Detroit cop foil man's plot to kill his wife after looking into his vehicle

An undercover police officer in Detroit foiled a man's plot to allegedly kill his wife after she was found in a pickup truck in an abandoned field beaten, bound with duct tape and shot in the legs.

The Grosse Pointe Park officer working with Detroit police approached the Chevrolet Silverado after he saw it in a weedy field on the city's east side on Wednesday.

Radu Vasile Muntean, 35, allegedly got out of the truck and flashed a badge, claiming he was with a fugitive recovery team, and said he had run out of gas.

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Radu Vasile Muntean has been charged with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, unlawful imprisonment, felonious assault and felony firearm after a plot to kill his wife was stopped by a police officer. He is being arraigned at left and is pictured in his booking photo at right

An undercover police officer in Detroit foiled Muntean's plot to allegedly kill his wife on Wednesday after coming across a pickup truck in an abandoned field

When the officer approached the vehicle, Muntean (pictured being taken into custody) got out of the truck and flashed a badge, claiming he was with a fugitive recovery team, and said he had run out of gas. The officer then spotted the woman bound with duct tape in the front seat

But when the officer looked in the truck's front seat, he saw the woman, who was bound with duct tape at the wrists and ankles.

The woman, who has not been named, appeared to have been beaten and had gunshot wounds to both legs, Detroit police Sgt Michael Woody told Fox 2.

Woody said Muntean, from Hazel Park, was about to kill his 33-year-old wife and dump her body in the field near the Coleman A Young International Airport before the undercover officer foiled his plot.

The badge he had flashed when the officer arrived on scene was fake, police said. Muntean had also thrown his wife's 'clothing, purse, cell phone and miscellaneous items in a field across the street' from the field, Woody said. 

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Assistant Detroit Police Chief Steve Dolunt said a pistol and gun were found in the man's pickup truck. 

Muntean was taken into custody at the scene and the woman was transported to a hospital.

'I think this officer definitely saved her life. He's a hero,' Woody told the Free Press.

The undercover officer, who has not been named, is part of the city's ACTION multi-jurisdiction stolen car task force, according to the Detroit News.

Muntean was charged with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, unlawful imprisonment, felonious assault and felony firearm.  

The woman was bound at the wrist and ankles, appeared to have been beaten and had gunshot wounds to both her legs

Police said Muntean, a 35-year-old man from Hazel Park, was about to kill his 33-year-old wife and dump her body

Neighbors said that the vehicle had been parked in the abandoned field for hours before the police arrived.

'I noticed it when I pulled out around 10 o'clock [in the morning]' one neighbor told WJBK.

Detroit Police Lt Ron Lockhart told the local station that the field is an ideal location for potential crimes.

'As you can see, there's nothing in this area,' he said.

Muntean's arraignment took place on Friday, where a judge held him on a $100,000 cash/surety bond. 

He told the judge that he is self-employed and ran several businesses, including a food truck and a construction company. The judge urged him to hire an attorney if he has the funds to do so. 

Muntean is expected to return to court for a hearing on Monday at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice. 

The field where the incident occurred, which sits just beyond the airport's property lines, has a history of homicide.

In 2012, two teens from Westland were found dead in the same area after they went to Detroit to buy drugs.

The killers in the 2012 murders were sentenced to life behind bars earlier this year.  

The large field just beyond Coleman A Young International Airport has a history of homicide. Two Westland teens were found dead in the area in 2012 after going to the city to buy drugs

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