SAGINAW, MI -- A Saginaw Valley State University student who contested his arrest and a charge of fleeing and eluding police got some good news Tuesday, July 7, when the charge he faced was dismissed.

The Saginaw County Prosecutor's Office dismissed the felony facing DaJuawn Wallace two days before a July 9 preliminary hearing in the case in Saginaw County District Court.

Pictured in March 2012, DaJauwn Wallace works on an art project at Bay-Arenac ISD Living and Learning Center, 1435 W Center in Hampton Township. (File | MLive.com)

Wallace, 24, had argued he didn't attempt to flee from an SVSU patrol car but drove to a well-lit area before coming to a stop.

"As of right now, the charge is dismissed. It was a unique set of facts and (a unique) situation," Chief Prosecutor Christopher Boyd said.

Wallace said he was happy to hear the news.

"I'm very happy," Wallace said Tuesday. "But hearing other people's stories and knowing what's going on at the campus, it's not about me."

SVSU President Donald Bachand released a statement Tuesday, July 7, about the incident that he is trying to make arrangements to meet Wallace and has directed the university police department to review its policies.

Wallace, an SVSU student who will graduate in May 2016 with a master's degree in health administration, was pulled over by a campus police officer at 2 a.m. Feb. 19.

Wallace said he was on a late-night store run to pick up medicine for his girlfriend who was sick. The officer said in a police report that Wallace did not stop for 1.5 miles before pulling into a Sam's Club parking lot on Tittabawassee in Kochville Township.

Wallace explained to the officer that because he lives in Detroit and it is common for fake police officers to pull over motorists and rob them, he was taught to pull into a well-lit and safe area if police attempted to pull him over.

SVSU Officer Leon Wilson stated in his police report that he initiated a traffic stop on Wallace because his vehicle fit the description of a car that he observed driving on a sidewalk on the SVSU campus. Wilson had lost sight of the vehicle.

Wallace was stopped, and the incident was captured on a dashcam video. He was charged with a felony of fleeing and eluding police.

"We did an independent review of the video," Boyd said. "After reviewing that, we determined that we were not going to (pursue) felony charges. We communicated that to the defense May 13."

Wallace was offered a plea June 12 of attempted fourth-degree fleeing and eluding, a one-year misdemeanor with a delayed sentence -- meaning that after he completes probation, the charges would be dismissed.

Dash camera shows SVSU student facing felony 5 Gallery: Dash camera shows SVSU student facing felony

Wallace rejected it.

Boyd said following Wallace's rejection and further discussion, prosecutors opted to dismiss the charge.

Boyd said that though people may have situations where they may need to pull into a well-lit area, "That's not true for all situations."

A story of Wallace's ordeal posted on MLive on Monday garnered 10,000 Facebook shares, more than 1,000 tweets and more than 1,700 comments. The story was posted to numerous news sites, including Huffington Post and TheBlaze.

Many comments supported Wallace and called for prosecutors to drop the charges as they, too, were taught to pull into brightly lit areas at night if a police officer initiates a traffic stop.

Students at SVSU also planned a protest in support of Wallace at 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 8, in front of the Saginaw County Governmental Center, where the county's court offices are located.

Protest organizer Florence Alexander, an SVSU senior, said she was happy the charges facing Wallace were dropped. She planned to talk to Wallace to determine if the protest should move forward as a statement about police actions at SVSU.

Bob Johnson is a reporter for MLive/The Saginaw News. Contact him at 989-395-3295, by email at bob_johnson@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter,Facebook or Google+.