True Crime and News of the Weird from around the Globe

Missing Michigan Family Found Dead in Remote Woods

By HardBoiledNews Staff

WEST BRANCH, Michigan — A missing Michigan couple and their 8-month-old son were found dead after their truck appeared to have gotten stuck on a boulder, stranding them in a remote wooded area.

Amanda Pomeroy, Douglas Dougherty and their son, Jacob Dougherty, were found by a snowmobiler outside of their vehicle some seven days after they were reported missing, police said.

The couple had last been seen on Jan. 12 when they visited relatives in nearby Rose City, Michigan. They were not reported missing until four days later, police said.

On Saturday, a snowmobiler stumbled upon the family’s pickup truck in the woods. He stopped to investigate and found all three people dead outside the vehicle, cops said. It appeared the truck was stuck on a large rock and Dougherty was trying to get it unstuck, the Ogemaw County Sheriff’s office said.

Details of how the family got stuck and how they died, remained unclear.

“There’s a lot of unanswered questions that we need to know,” Ogemaw County Sheriff Brian Gilbert told MLive. “We’re doing autopsies right now, so we’ll have some final answers soon.”

A GoFundMe page set up on behalf of the family, said the couple had a daughter who survives them. 

A published obituary said Pomeroy, 32, worked as a waitress and in a food store and loved camping. The notice said Dougherty, 35, loved to camp and fish. Their son, who was born in May, was described as a “happy and joyful baby.”

Husband Charged in Murder of Pregnant Schoolteacher Wife

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Richard Guichelaar

KENTWOOD, Michigan — A Michigan man has been charged with murder for allegedly strangling his pregnant school teacher wife in their bed, police said.

Richard Guichelaar, 35, was ordered held on $2 million bail for the Nov. 16 slaying of his 32-year-old wife, Amber, in their home in Kentwood, Michigan.

At the time of her death, Guichelaar called the cops to say he found his wife — a teacher at Kentwood Public Schools — dead in their bed. The couple had two kids and Amber was pregnant with their third.

Investigators said they immediately found the scene suspicious and eventually the medical examiner ruled that Amber had been strangled and had injuries consistent with having been assaulted. 

Detectives determined that her husband was the only one in the house at the time capable of strangling his wife and that his explanations of what had happened didn’t add up.

Guichelaar, who works for a landscaping and snow plowing business, argued at his arraignment that he was not a flight risk.

“Just know that I will show up for everything I’m supposed to and I’m not a risk, your honor,” he said, according to MLive.com.

His lawyer argued for some bail as his client had strong ties to the community.

Parents Lose Lawsuit Over Destruction of Son’s Porn Stash

By HardBoiledNews Staff

GRAND HAVEN, Michigan — An elderly couple took a real legal spanking when a judge ordered that they must pay their son for destroying his massive pornography and sex toy collection.

Paul and Beth Werking, of Grand Haven, were sued by their 42-year-old son David Werking after they destroyed his collection of DVDs, VHS tapes and other pornographic materials in 2018. The younger Werking estimated the value of the collection to be around $25,000.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court, David Werking claimed his parents illegally destroyed his porno stash after he left it behind at their home when he moved out at the “request of local law enforcement” in 2017. He now lives in Indiana.

Emails between the father and son, described the collection as including 12 moving boxes “full of pornography plus two boxes of sex toys.” David Werking included an itemized list of the destroyed property, including 1,605 titles of pornographic DVDs and VHS tapes. The collection also included at least 50 sex toys. 

Some of the titles David Werking described as irreplaceable. But his old man didn’t see it that way.

“Frankly, David, I did you a big favor by getting rid of all this stuff for you,” Werking’s father wrote in an email, citing concerns for his son’s emotional and mental health, the Holland Sentinel reported.

The elder Werkings told their son they were unwilling to transport the porn to him in Muncie, Ind., and were uncomfortable having it in their home. 

A final judgment on damages has not yet been determined.

The lawyer for the parents said she has  hired pornography expert Victoria Hartmann, the executive director of the Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas, to help determine those damages.

Michigan Teen Late for Curfew Busted Driving 138 Miles Per Hour

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Officers took pity on the teen speeding home in a Camaro, although it’s unclear if his parents will be as forgiving

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Michigan — At least his heart was in the right place.

A dopey Michigan teen was arrested after being caught driving 138-miles-per-hour, telling cops he was racing home because he was late for curfew.

The Michigan State Police say the 17-year-old — whose name they did not release — was zooming along I-75 outside of Detroit in an orange 2012 Chevy Camaro at 8:45 on Nov. 23 in a bid to get home to Grand Blanc before it was too late.

“The driver, 17 years old, stated that he was traveling so fast and passing other cars and ducking in and out of lanes because he was late for his 9:30 p.m. curfew,” police said.

Feeling bad for the teen, “the trooper gave the kid a break on the reckless driving charge, but he did earn a ticket for 138/70 and the SMH [smack my head] award.”

The department said the teen will receive four points on his license which will result in increased insurance rates and fines of at least $180.00. A reckless driving charge would have resulted in the teen being arrested and facing as much as 93 days in jail.

The officer opted to show the kid some leniency because he is “already in a lot of trouble with mom and dad.”

“Your troopers see all kinds of things during their shift. We give them the discretion to handle all situations. If you have to be somewhere at a certain time, leave early. Slow down and drive Michigan Safely!” the department said.

Pot Brownies Handed Out in Michigan School for Homecoming Votes

By HardBoiledNews Staff

School officials say a cheerleader handed out the edible to drum up votes

HARTFORD, Michigan — Her electoral lead may go up in smoke.

School officials in Michigan are investigating a purported pot brownie giveaway in which a cheerleader was handing out edible marijuana in exchange for votes for homecoming queen.

“You always think you’ve heard it all and seen it all, and there is always something new to surprise you,” Hartford patrolman Michael Prince told WWMT-TV.

Officials with the school district alerted parents earlier this week that pot brownies had been distributed to students in school. They said they began an investigation following a tip that was received by state police.

The name of the cheerleader was not disclosed publicly, but school Superintendent Andrew Hubbard said: “All individuals are being dealt with according to our district policies and student handbooks. We have notified the Hartford Police Department and are assisting them in their criminal investigation of the matter.”

Investigators said the suspected chef has moved out of state since the incident, and that there are no reports of anyone becoming ill from the brownies. However, they have sent some of the brownies to the Michigan State Police crime lab for testing.

Fight Between Straight-A Students Over Boy Ends in Fatal Classroom Stabbing

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Straight-A student Danyna Gibson, 16, was killed in front of a classroom filled with terrified students

WARREN, Michigan — A dispute over a boy between two straight-A high school students ended in bloodshed when one stabbed the other in a shocking classroom attack, authorities said.

Danyna Gibson, 16, died less than an hour after being stabbed twice in the chest with a steak knife in front of as many as 30 classmates and teachers during first period on Wednesday at Fitzgerald High School in Warren, Michigan.

“I froze. I didn’t know what to do. I just saw one of my friends just dying,” 16-year-old Victoria Oraczko told the Detroit Free Press.

Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer declined to identify the suspect, a 17-year-old Warren girl, who he described as a straight A student who was once friends with the victim. He said she would likely be charged with murder.

“It’s truly a tragedy. Two lives are ruined,” Dwyer said, noting that both girls, who are seniors, were good students and had not been in trouble before. “This is truly a tragedy on both sides.”

Dwyer said the violence appeared to have been sparked after the suspect grew angry with Gibson after thinking she told the suspect’s 17-year-old boyfriend that she was cheating on him.

Police say they had reviewed text messages between the suspect and her boyfriend, but declined to comment on what they said.  Investigators said they believe the suspect and her boyfriend had driven to school together that morning ahead of the attack.

In addition to be a top student, Gibson was involved in numerous extracurricular activities, including cross-country, robotics, color guard, marching band, student council and Generation of Promise, a youth leadership program.

“You took something that was so valuable to me that I would rather be laying there than her,” her father, Preston Gilbert, told WJBK-TV. “I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.”

 

Cops find $63K at Home of Priest Eyed in $5M Embezzlement Scheme

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Rev. Jonathan Wehrle is accused of using the proceeds on a giant mansion

WILLIAMSTON, Michigan — You can’t buy your way into heaven.

Authorities discovered $63,000 in cash hidden in the ceiling of a Catholic priest charged with embezzling more than $5 million from a Michigan parish.

Cops say they found the cash — mostly in $2,000 bundles of $20 bills — wrapped in paper bands stamped with the words: “For deposit only – St. Martha Parish and School.”

The cash was discovered above the tiles in the basement during a second search of the Rev. Jonathan Wehrle’s home, the Lansing State Journal reported.

Investigators believe the money was embezzled from the parish where Wehrle was pastor. In all, more than $1.1 million in assets has been seized in connection with the investigation, police said.

Officials have accused Wehrle of using funds from his Okemos parish to pay for work and materials at the home.

Wehrle has been trying to raise $300,000 for his legal defense and is “in dire need of help,” according to a letter circulated on his behalf by Opus Bono, a charity that raises money to help priests.

“For Father Wehrle, this is quite literally an apocalyptic moment,” the letter said. “The prosecutor has frozen all of his assets … he is unable to pay his legal team for a competent defense.”

 

 

Gang Members Charged With Carving Crew’s Name on 15-Year-Old’s Chest

By HardBoiledNews Staff

The attackers were members of M.O.B. 662, a Bloods gang affiliate in Michigan

FLINT, Michigan — Four ruthless gang members have been charged with brutally beating a 15-year-old boy and carving their crew’s name on his chest with a knife, prosecutors said.

The assault occurred last November, when the four members of M.O.B. 662 — a local affiliate of the notorious Bloods — spotted the teen selling marijuana in Genesee Township, Michigan. They then assaulted the boy, robbed him and carved their crew’s name into his chest, federal prosecutors said.

“This case is a stark reminder that the influence of violent street gangs extends beyond the big cities and into smaller communities such as our own,” said Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton.

Doniel “Dee Red” Heard of Canton, Talasha Willis of Flint, Kimberly “Boss Lady” Perryman of Mt. Morris, and Alina White of Waterford are each charged with a count of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, and a count of interference with commerce by robbery.

Prosecutors say the gang members committed the vicious attack in order to “gain entrance to, maintain, and increase their positions in the gang.”

Driver Who Killed 5 Cyclists While High on Drugs Sentenced to 40 Years

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Charles Pickett Jr. was high as a kite when he plowed through a pack of cyclists

KALAMAZOO, Michigan — A stoned driver who plowed through a pack of cyclists, killing five of them, was sentenced to at least 40 years in prison after the judge dismissed his tearful apology as not good enough.

Charles Pickett Jr., 52,  had taken methamphetamine, muscle relaxers and pain medication at a cousin’s funeral two years ago when he got behind the wheel and tore through a pack of nine cyclists on a rural road in Cooper Township.

Five of the cyclists — three women and two men ranging in age from 42 to 74 — were killed and four others seriously injured.

“I’ll live with this the rest of my life,” Pickett said, as he broke down in tears in court, according to MLive.com. “I would give my life for the people I murdered, killed and maimed and I just want to say I’m sorry.”

But Judge Paul Bridenstine called Pickett’s apology ”woefully inadequate,” as he had many opportunities to stop driving before the fatal crash and he had narrowly avoided killing others along the road that day.

“You selfishly and unnecessarily murdered five people and altered the lives of four others,” Bridenstine said before handing down the sentence. “The loss is massive and immeasurable.”

Pickett was hit with a to 40 to 75 years sentence and will be 90 years old before he is eligible for parole.

Man Phoned in Fake School Shootings to Distract Cops While He Robbed Banks

By HardBoiledNews Staff

William Minore Liked Phoning in Diversions While Robber Banks

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — A 70-year-old Michigan man has been charged with phoning in phony reports of school shootings and other emergencies to distract police while he committed bank robberies.

Federal prosecutors say William Minore used disposable cell phones to call in the diversionary reports while he robbed a string of banks in northwestern Michigan between 2015 and 2016.

In one episode in September 2016, Minore allegedly called 911 to report that “a man entered a school and shot his daughter, is shooting other people,” before hanging up and walking into a Huntington Bank in Empire, Michigan and sticking the place up, prosecutors said.

In other instances, Minore allegedly reported a gas station robbery, a grocery store robbery and a bank robbery to distract cops while he ripped off banks of his own.

At one bank hold-up, prosecutors say Minore produced a World War II era pineapple-style hand grenade to force employees away from a vault.

Minore faces three counts of bank robbery, and three counts of use of a firearm in furtherance of a bank robbery.

 

Ex-Teacher Gets 60 Years for Slashing Wife’s Throat Over Student Affair

By HardBoiledNews Staff

James Chelekis cut his wife’s throat after she confronted him over his affair with 14-year-old

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — A former-public school math teacher was sentenced to 30-to-60-years behind bars for slashing his wife’s throat after she discovered he was having an affair with a 14-year-old student.

James Chelekis, 32, attacked his wife Amanda in June after she confronted him about the affair. At the time, she didn’t know the dalliance was with a middle school student, so the two spent the evening discussing what to two and agreed to enter counseling.

That’s when Chelekis struck.

“Standing behind me, he kissed my forehead and slit my throat from one side to the other,” his ex-wife said in court, according to the Detroit Free Press. “The trauma I was forced to endure was horrendous.”

For the next hour, Amanda Chelekis — who is a registered nurse — struggled to stay alive while convincing her husband to call for help.

“He asked why I hadn’t bled out yet. I was constantly praying to find a way to live,’’ she  told the court. “I told him I was going to die very soon if he didn’t do something and he would regret it the rest of his life.’’

After 60 minutes had passed, 911 was called.

His lawyer had argued that his client had suffered from mental health issues.

“I am truly sorry for how I failed and hurt people that I care about,’’ James Chelekis told the court. “I will never stop trying to say I’m sorry and apologize.’’

A math teacher at Crestwood Middle School, investigators say James Chelekis swapped texts, chats and photos with the girl. It is believed  they began a sexual relationship in June 2016.

A statement from  the girl’s mother that was read in court said that James Chelekis had manipulated and isolated her daughter in order to start the relationship.

“He robbed our daughter of her innocence and childhood. And that is something that she can never get back,” the mother wrote.

He was also sentenced to 15 to 40 years in prison on a criminal sexual conduct charge, which will be served concurrently with the attempted murder sentence.

 

Man Arrested for Threatening to Kill CNN Employees Over ‘Fake News’

By HardBoiledNews Staff

The caller threatened to attack CNN’s headquarters over ‘Fake News’

DETROIT — A Michigan man has been arrested for allegedly calling CNN nearly two dozen times and threatening to kill everyone who worked there, accusing them of producing “fake news,” amid hate-filled rants.

The menacing calls began pouring into the CNN switchboard in Atlanta on Jan. 9 from a number registered to a home in Novi, Michigan, the FBI said.

“Fake news. I’m coming to gun you all down. F — k you, f — king ni—rs,” 24-year-old Brandon Griesemer allegedly told the operator before hanging up.

Several minutes later, Griesemer called back and repeated his threat: “I am on my way right now to gun the f — kin’ CNN cast down. F — k you,” according to an FBI affidavit.

Griesemer allegedly called back 30 minutes later and whispered: “I’m coming for you CNN. I’m smarter than you. More powerful than you. I have more guns than you. More manpower. Your cast is about to get gunned down in a matter of hours.”

The calls carried on the next day, when authorities say Griesemer spouted out slurs about Jews, before stating: “You are going down. I have a gun and I am coming to Georgia right now to go to the CNN headquarters to f — king gun every single last one of you. I have a team of people. It’s going to be great, man . . . You gotta get prepared for this one, buddy.”

CNN managed to figure out who the caller was after bringing in an investigators who was able to trace the number back to Griesemer’s family home in Michigan.

The terrifying calls come at a time of heightened tension for the news media, with President Donald Trump frequently attacking critical press as “fake news,” with CNN being a regular target. Last week, the president unveiled his “Fake News Awards,” naming CNN numerous times. He has also shared several images on Twitter showing him attacking the CNN logo.

Griesemer’s father told the Washington Post that “this whole thing has been a mistake, he really didn’t mean any of it.”

“He didn’t know what he was saying, the seriousness of it. We’re not even gun owners or anything like that. We don’t have any, neither does he,” his father said.

The FBI affidavit also says Griesemer had earlier admitted to phoning in threats to a Michigan mosque in September last year.

Driver Shoots Hitchhiker Who Spoke in Tongues and Tried to Grab Steering Wheel

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Picking up a hitchhiker proved to be a very bad idea for a Detroit motorist

DETROIT — Here’s a good example of why you should never pick up a hitchhiker.

A Detroit motorist had the ride of his life when a man who offered him $100 and a free tank of gas for lift across town began speaking in tongues, tried to grab the steering wheel and then wrestled away the driver’s gun before bolting out of the car.

Michigan State Police say the hitcher approached the driver at a gas station late last week and offered the cash for a ride. The driver, who has a concealed carry permit and was armed said yes.

But when they got on the road, matters took a bizarre turn.

“As the two approach Grand Boulevard, the passenger beings speaking in tongues before he reaches over and tries steering the vehicle into neighboring motorist,” the state police said, according to MLive.com.

The driver then pulled out his gun, but that only made matters worse.

“The suspect takes a hold of the weapon as the victim attempts to simultaneously maintain control of the vehicle, making the weapon inoperable,” police said.

But the driver was eventually able to fire the gun, striking the hitcher in the shoulder. The man then grabbed hold of the gun and ran from the car. The driver pulled over and called 911.

Soon after, cops responded to a call of a man trying to break into a church where the picked up the crazed hitcher. He was taken to a hospital with a non-life threatening wound.

 

Detroit Cops Get Into Rumble With Each Other During Drug Bust Gone Bad

By HardBoiledNews Staff

DETROIT — You know crime has gotten out of hand in your town when even the cops start fighting each other during a drug bust.

Detroit cops engaged in an undercover drug operation got into a giant brawl when officers from two different precincts ended up on opposite sides of a buy-and-bust.

Authorities say undercover officers from the 12th precinct posing as phony drug dealers were running a “push off” operation last week where they sell someone drugs and then arrest them.

But things took an ugly turn when officers from the 11th precinct approached to do an undercover buy.

When the officers posing as sellers ordered the phony buyers to get on the ground, all hell broke loose, WJBK-TV reported.

Additional officers showed up to raid a nearby drug house, but the two different groups of cops began fighting with each other and some officers even pulled their guns out as punches were thrown.

The Detroit police department said it is conducting an internal investigation.

Man Hangs Self, Leaves Note Admitting to Killing Wife With Map to Find Her Body

By HardBoiledNews Staff

 

Suicidal Christopher Lockhart admitted killing his wife, Theresa, five months earlier

PORTAGE, Michigan — A man whose wife disappeared five months ago committed suicide and left behind a note admitting he killed her with a map showing where her body could be found, police said.

Christopher Lockhart, 47 was found hanging in his Portage, Michigan, home on Tuesday after failing to report to the community corrections office.

In the house, investigators found a note in which Lockhart said he and his wife, Theresa Lockhart, 44, got into an argument on May 18 and he “just snapped,” MLive.com reported.

The note also included a hand-drawn map showing where Theresa’s body was buried.

Theresa, who worked as a Spanish teacher at the Schoolcraft Community Schools, was found later that day, buried in a shallow grave in a wooded area about 50 miles from her home.

Christopher had been considered a person of interest in the case after he became uncooperative with police, and had been arrested four times on unrelated charges since Theresa disappeared.

“My heart is breaking that a special life has been taken away but we now have peace of mind as to what and when. Chris did one good deed before he died and that was to tell us where we could find Theresa,” Theresa’s sister Joan Mullowney wrote on a Facebook page dedicated to searching for her.

 

5 Teens Charged With Tossing Rock Onto Michigan Road, Killing Motorist

By HardBoiledNews Staff

FLINT, Michigan — Five teens in Michigan will be tried as adults and were ordered held without bail for allegedly tossing a six-pound rock off an expressway overpass onto a passing car, killing the driver.

Prosecutors say they boys –high school students who range in age from 15 to 17 — had been horsing around throwing debris at cars from an overpass in Vienna Township on Oct. 18, when they tossed a boulder into the windshield of a van.

Kenneth White, a 32-year-old construction worker and father on his way home from work  , who was a passenger in the vehicle, suffered major head injuries and was declared dead soon after, police said.

“It’s not a prank. It’s second-degree murder. I don’t think anybody is laughing,” Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell said, according to MLive.com.

Investigators believe that Kyle Anger, 17, threw the rock that killed White, but have also charged  his pals, Alexzander Miller, 15; Mark Sekelsky, 16; Mikadyn Payne, 16; and Trevor Gray, 15, with second-degree murder.

Kenneth White

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said he planned to bring the case against all the teens as if they were adults.

“It was a willful and wanton act that resulted in somebody’s death. These people should have known better,”he said. “Under Michigan law that is second-degree murder.

Woman Dimed Out By Chatty Parrot Gets Life in Hubby Slay

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Bud just repeated what he had heard

WHITE CLOUD, Michigan — She’s a jailbird now.

A Michigan woman was sentenced to life in prison for killing her husband in a crime that was revealed when the couple’s pet parrot repeated her dying hubby’s final words.

Glenna Duram, 49, claimed she shot her 46-year-old husband, Martin, five times and then turned the gun on herself in a failed dual suicide bid in 2015.

But her story unraveled when the bird, which witnessed the crime, began blurting out, “don’t f***ing shoot,” in Martin’s voice.

Glenna Duram remained hospitalized for months after the shooting but was eventually charged after relatives told investigators what the bird had been saying. Police also found notes Duram had written which expressed remorse for what she had done and cast doubt on her double suicide claim.

Glenna Duram (r) and her slain hubby, Martin

Duram told cops she was bi-polar and had struggled with depression before the shooting.

The parrot, an African grey named Bud, now lives with Martin Duram’s ex-wife. The bird was not called to testify at trial.

 

 

Man Tries Fireworks to Zap Bee’s Nest, Torches Garage Instead

By HardBoiledNews Staff

GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Michigan — At least he’s a patriotic dumbass.

A Michigan man accidentally set his garage on fire when he tried to use fireworks to remove a bee’s nest inside, authorities said.

The blaze set off even more fireworks that were apparently store inside, sending rockets blazing across the night sky, fire officials said.

“The homeowner was doing something with a smoke bomb trying to get a bees nest out of the garage,”  Grand Blanc Fire Chief, Bob Burdett, told Mlive.com.

No one was hurt and the fire was contained to the garage and a fence and didn’t spread to the clueless homeowner’s home.

Mike Tingley, who sparked the fire, said he was simply glad it wasn’t worse.

“We really weren’t going to celebrate the Fourth of July so much as we just have fun in our backyard, we like to have barbecues, we had a patio back there,” said Tingley, who was home with his wife and daughter at the time of the fire. “It is depressing losing a place where we had a lot of fun, but everyone is safe and that’s the main thing.”

White Cop Files Race Discrimination Suit After Discovering He is Part Black

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Cleon Brown recently discovered that he is 18% black

HASTINGS, Michigan — A Michigan cop has filed a racial discrimination suit against his department, saying he became the subject of non-stop racist taunting after discovering he had black ancestry.

Sgt. Cleon Brown, 49, said in his civil suit that the police chief repeatedly called him “Kunta,” after the character Kunta Kinte in the famed slave epic, “Roots,” by Alex Haley. He said others whispered “Black Lives Matter,” and raised their fists in a black power salute as he walked past.

And at Christmas time, the sergeant said he found a black Santa figurine with “18%” written on its beard, in a stocking that hung in the department with Brown’s name on it.

The figure was a reference to the 18% black ancestry Brown discovered he had when he had done an Ancestry.com genetic test. Brown says department staff grew increasingly chilly towards him after he objected to the taunts, and began to ignore him completely after he filed a complaint with the equal employment opportunity commission.

The suit, filed in federal court, names Police Chief Jeff Pratt, City Manager Jeff Mansfield, and several others.

Brown found this statue in his office Christmas stocking

The department and Mansfield countered that it  was Brown who started the racial bantering and that others just followed suit when he would joke about his black ancestry. They accused Brown on engaging in “typical racial stereotypes.”

City officials told MLive.com that they weren’t even sure if Brown’s genetic makeup even qualified him as a protected class under civil rights laws.

Brown has served on the force since 1998 and had spent seven years in the Army before joining the Hastings department.

Detroit Doc Charged with Performing Female Genital Mutilation

By HardBoiledNews Staff

DETROIT — An emergency room physician has been charged with performing female genital mutilation in Michigan on girls as 6-years-old, in what prosecutors are saying is the first case of its kind brought in the United States.

Jumana Nagarwala, 44, is charged with performing the procedures at a a medical office in Livonia, Michigan. According to the criminal complaint, some of the girls — who were between the ages of six and eight — travelled from out of state to have the procedure done.

“Despite her oath to care for her patients, Dr. Nagarwala is alleged to have performed horrifying acts of brutality on the most vulnerable victims,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Blanco.

Prosecutors said they believe this is the first criminal case to be brought under a federal statute that bans female genital mutilation that has been in place since 1997.

“The Department of Justice is committed to stopping female genital mutilation in this country, and will use the full power of the law to ensure that no girls suffer such physical and emotional abuse,” Blanco said.

Female genital mutilation is defined by the World Health Organization as any procedure that  intentionally alters female genitalia for non-medical reasons. The practice is mostly commonly seen in Africa and the Middle East and parts of Asia, but is considered barbaric in the West.

It is mostly performed on young girls before they reach puberty. An estimated 200 million women worldwide have undergone some form of the procedure, according to the WHO.

Nagarwala is listed as a specialist in emergency medicine at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit An online profile for her says she received her medical degree from Johns Hopkins University .

Killer Robot That Went Rogue Responsible for Auto Worker’s Death: Suit

By HardBoiledNews Staff

An assembly line robot is accused of going rogue in the death of an auto plant worker

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — When future generations look back at history, they may consider July 7, 2015 as the day when the machines became self aware.

A federal lawsuit filed in Michigan accuses several companies of negligence for an episode that day where an auto plant robot went rogue and killed an employee.

Wanda Holbrook, a 57-year-old technician at the Ventra Ionia plant in Ionia, Michigan where bumpers and hitch assemblies are manufactured, was killed when the robot entered an area it was not supposed to be in and crushed her head as she inspected equipment.

For reasons that are unclear, the robot’s arm “took Wanda by surprise, entering the section she was working in” and “hit and crushed Wanda’s head between a hitch assembly it was attempting to place” in a fixture.

Wanda Holbrook

The suit alleges that a number of safety mechanisms designed to keep the robot from entering the area where Holbrook was had failed.

Her husband, William Holbrook, is accusing the robotics companies Prodomax Automation Canada, Flex-N-Gate LLC, FANUC America Corp., Nachi Robotic Systems Inc., and Lincoln Electric Company of negligence and defective design in his wife’s death.

Wanda Holbrook had worked at the factory for 12 years and specialized in fixing assembly line robots if something went wrong.

The suit says other employees noticed that the assembly line appeared to not be working properly so they went to look for Holbrook when they discovered her dead.

“I want to make sure nothing like this happens to another family,” Bill Holbrook told the Detroit Free Press. “We would feel terrible if we didn’t do anything and then another family had to go through something similar to this. If it’s an accident, it’s an accident. If it’s preventable, I want it to be prevented.”

Ex-Gang Member ‘Executed’ 2 Months After Obama Commuted His Sentence

By HardBoiledNews Staff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpMNd5S4MjI

SAGINAW, Michigan (Jan. 28, 2017) — Two men armed with assault rifles gunned down a federal prisoner in a halfway house just two months after his 19-year sentence for drug dealing had been commuted by President Obama.

Surveillance video shows the two men, dressed in dark clothes and wearing masks, force their way into Bannum Place, a federal halfway house in Saginaw, Michigan, on the evening of Jan. 23.

As one of them held the other two dozen residents at bay, the other hunted down and killing 31-year-old Demarlon Thomas, shooting him numerous times, including once in the head.

“If you look at the way this was executed, it was no accident — they knew exactly who they were looking for and knew exactly where he was at,” Michigan State Police Lt. David Kaiser told the Saginaw News.

Thomas was a former member of the Sunny Side Gang, a drug outfit that had for years run Saginaw’s South Side. But in 2008, secured convictions against dozens of members of the gang, including Thomas, who was sentenced to 19 years in prison.

But in November, President Obama included Thomas on a list of 79 people across the country whose sentences would be commuted. The agreement shaved about eight years off of Thomas sentence. He was awaiting a full released on March 22.

Demarlon Thomas’s sentence was shortened by President Obama

Thomas, who had been a star football player in high school and attended college on an athletic scholarship, admitted selling just shy of 15 grams of crack cocaine to a confidential informant three separate times. He  also had two previous felony drug convictions.

He had argued in an appeal that was rejected that his sentence was unduly harsh, as he was just a low-level street dealer in the gang.

“He was just happy to be free and have a second chance at life,” childhood friend Carla Robinson told the Saginaw newspaper. “Since he’s been home, all he’s been trying to do is do right. He’s been trying to find a job. He wasn’t a troublemaker, even with his convictions.”

 

House Sale Falls Through When Buyer Finds Mummified Corpse in Garage

By HardBoiledNews Staff

 

Investigators don’t know how long the mummy had been in the house or even if it was a man or a woman

DETROIT — This will kill a real estate deal fast.

A man looking to buy a house in Detroit made a grisly discovery when he walked into the garage and found a mummified body behind the wheel of car parked there, police said.

The man made the terrifying discovery when he opened the door of a 1990 or 1991 Plymouth Acclaim that sat in the unused garage and found a very badly decomposed body behind the wheel, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Authorities said the body had been there “for years” and it was not immediately possible to even tell what gender it had been. Lloyd Jackson, a spokesman for the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s office said an anthropologist from the University of Michigan would be brought in to examine the remains.

“At this point, they don’t know if it’s male or female, or cause or manner of death or anything like that,” Jackson said. “That’s when the anthropologist comes in and checks it out. They didn’t do an autopsy, they just did an inspection because that’s usually what they do when they get these bodies that have been really badly decomposed or mummified.”

Police say the current renters of the home told investigators that they had never been inside the garage as the owner had told them they did not have access to it.

Police spokesman Dan Donakowski said investigators were in the process of contacting the homeowner.

“This is an open investigation and I know we’re going to do a thorough investigation on it, but we obviously have to find out what went on,” he said. “A lot of the investigation is going to be geared to the findings of the medical examiner’s office so we can actually see what happened and we’re going to go from there.”

The situation is reminiscent of the 1999 discovery by a new homeowner in Jericho, N.Y. of the mummified remains of a woman stuffed into an oil drum hidden a crawl space beneath his new home.

The investigation revealed that the woman had been an immigrant from El Salvador who worked for plastic flower company co-owned by Howard Elkins, who had owned the house 30 years earlier. She had had an affair with the married Elkins and eventually became pregnant with his child, so he killed her.

When investigators eventually approached Elkins, who had since retired to Florida, he committed suicide.

Midwest Trucker Charged With Hiding Serbian Death Squad Past

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Prosecutors say trucker Alexander Kneginich was hiding a dark past

 

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — A mid-western trucker has been arrested for allegedly hiding  that he’d been part of a Serbian death squad in the 1990s and had faced trial in Bosnia for murdering Muslims when he applied to come to U.S. as a refugee and later became a citizen.

Alexander Kneginich, 56, of Crown Point, Indiana, had served in an ethnic Serb army during Bosnia’s brutal civil war in the early 1990s, federal prosecutors said. In 1994, he and three others were charged with storming into a Muslim couple’s home and fatally shooting them.

The men were initially acquitted, but in 1996, the verdict was overturned and they faced retrial. In 2000, Kneginich allegedly lied on an application for refugee status in the United States, by claiming that his wife was ethnic Croat and that as a mixed-marriage couple they feared for their safety. Prosecutors say his now ex-wife is actually Serbian.

Kneginich posted this flag of a banned Serbian ultra-nationalist party on his Facebook page

On his Facebook page, Kneginich featured a picture of a flag of a banned fascist party in Serbia that has been accused of burning synagogues and mosques and attacking ethnic Roma.  On his right arm, Kneginich sports a prison tattoo of a Serbian crucifix.

In 2001, Kneginich was granted refugee status and settled in northern Indiana where he has worked as an electrician and a long-haul trucker. In 2007, he became a U.S. citizen in Michigan. Two years later, two of his co-defendants were retried in Bosnia and were convicted. Kneginich avoided retrial because he had resettled in the U.S.

Throughout his immigration process, prosecutors say he lied on his applications by failing to disclose that he had been charged with murder and had spent time in jail awaiting trial. He is also accused of lying about his wife’s ethnicity to gain refugee status.

“For persons who immigrate into the United States, citizenship is the brass ring,” said Pat Miles, U.S. Attorney in Michigan. “This office will zealously pursue any case where that prized status appears to have been obtained through fraud and deceit.”

Kneginich faces up to 10 years in prison and will lose his citizenship and be deported back to Bosnia if he is convicted.

 

Overly Prideful Uber Driver Stabs Fare after Feeling His Car was ‘Disrespected’

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Jacob Allemon was a bit too prideful about his 2012 Honda Civic

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Michigan — An Uber ride that began with the driver feeling a passenger had “disrespected his car” ended in bloodshed when the driver pulled out a knife and stabbed the man five times, police in Michigan said.

Bloomfield Township police say the altercation began early Saturday when a husband and wife leaving a party called for an Uber. When Jacob Matthew Allemon, 23, arrived in his 2012 Honda Civic, the male passenger knocked on his windshield.

“Allemon felt that his vehicle was disrespected when the victim tapped on the window,” police said in a statement.

After driving the couple a mile, Allemon decided to end the ride in a parking lot, but the couple declined to get out of his car until they could get another Uber to pick them up as it was snowing, police said.

“The husband tells him, ‘(Expletive) you, you little (expletive). We are not getting out until another Uber driver arrives,’ ” according to a police report obtained by the Detroit News.

Allemon told cops that the man started to choke him and that he feared for his life so he pulled out a knife in self defense. Investigators have cast doubt on Allemon’s version of events because he had no visible marks on his body.

The passenger in his statement to cops  insists he didn’t get physical with Allemon until he lunged into the back seat and started hacking away with a knife. His wife called 911 and the passenger managed to restrain Allemon until cops arrived.

When police arrived, they said the passenger was covered in blood. He was taken to a nearby hospital and was released the next day. Allemon was charged with assault with intent to do bodily harm and was held on $250,000 bond.

In a statement, Uber said it was appalled by Allemon’s actions and that he has been banned from the ride-sharing app.