Mount Clemens, MI — Macomb County taxpayers will pay $4,950 for a court-ordered independent psychiatric evaluation in the case of 23-year-old Endi Bala, the man accused of attempting to abduct two young girls in August 2024, after a judge declined to immediately accept a Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) plea.
RELATED: Judge Halts NGRI Proceedings, Orders Independent Evaluation in Bala Case
Court records dated February 5, 2026, show the court approved an expert witness fee for Dr. Michael Abramsky, PhD, who has been retained to conduct a 22-hour independent mental competency evaluation at a rate of $225 per hour. The evaluation was ordered by the court and approved under an expert witness order signed December 19, 2025.
The decision to bring in an outside evaluator came after Judge Matthew Sabaugh declined to immediately accept a Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) plea during a recent hearing, instead directing that the court obtain a second, fully independent opinion before allowing the case to proceed down Michigan’s insanity-commitment path.
Unlike routine cases where the court relies on findings from the state forensic system, the judge ordered an additional evaluation separate from the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry. The state has already deemed Bala incompetent to stand trial, and the court is now seeking its own expert analysis before determining whether an NGRI plea will be accepted or if the case will move forward criminally.
The case centers on Bala, of Shelby Township, who is charged in connection with two frightening incidents involving young girls in Macomb County in August 2024. Investigators say Bala first attempted to kidnap a 15-year-old in Clinton Township. About an hour later, he allegedly approached a 7-year-old near the entrance of Clinton River Park North in Sterling Heights, forcibly pulled her off her bicycle, placed her in his vehicle, and attempted to leave the park before the situation was interrupted. The back-to-back incidents led to serious felony charges and left both families shaken.
More than a year later, the parents of the two girls have been vocal about their frustration with how the case has unfolded, particularly after learning the prosecutor would accept an insanity plea. Their concerns center on what that could mean for accountability and how long Bala could be confined in a mental institution, as the case has shifted away from a traditional trial and into the mental competency process following the evaluation by the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry.
The parents want Bala to stand trial and face jail time while the Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry says he’s incompetent and should instead be put in a mental health institution.
The move effectively paused the automatic 60-day forensic intake process that would have begun had the insanity plea been accepted immediately. Instead, the case has shifted into a court-ordered evaluation phase, with a full hearing on the independent findings scheduled for March 20, 2026.
Discuss this on our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1F1BiW8yKg/