PROBATION

Smith’s record will be scrubbed clean if he stays out of trouble during probation.

FLINT, MI -- A Flint man has been sentenced to a year of probation for the torture of his dog Diesel. Robert Payne, 62, was sentenced Tuesday, Oct. 26 by Genesee County Circuit Court Judge F. Kay Behm to one year of probation on a single count of animal torture.

A former prosecutor has been placed on probation and must give up his law license.

A former Detroit city councilman has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years of probation after pleading guilty last month to accepting an illegal cash campaign contribution.

Unlike conventional diversion programs, eligible defendants will be able to enter the program before entering a guilty plea.

Gretchen Whitmer has signed new legislation into law that will overhaul the state’s parole and probation system. “The package of legislation included three very important reforms to supervision, to probation and to parole,” Haney said. Those laws aim to reshape the state’s probation and parole system and help thousands of people. What these reforms do is that they seek to make probation and parole more just and more effective,” Haney said. The new set of laws will reduce adult felony probation sentences in Michigan from five years to three years and prevent endless extensions on misdemeanor and felony probation terms.

EASTPOINTE, Mich. – A woman charged in connection with a 2018 fire that killed three children in Eastpointe was sentenced to probation. Amber Swain said she was running late for work back in March 2018 when the fire happened. Three children -- two boys and a girl -- were killed and two able to get out. For the first time in two years, Swain, the mother of the two boys, spoke about the fire that killed her two sons in the home on Juliana Avenue. I never wanted anything like this to happen.”MORE: Three children dead after early morning house fire in EastpointeMORE: 28-year-old woman charged in connection with Eastpointe fire that left 3 children deadMORE: Family of children killed in Eastpointe fire speak about loss before mother faces judgeThe grandparents of the two boys think otherwise and that Swain should have gotten more than probation.

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. A 15-year-old who was sent to juvenile detention for violating her probation by not completing online schoolwork will remain at Childrens Village for at least the weekend. The case has drawn national attention and protesters are calling it racial discrimination. The controversy centers around Grace, a Wylie E. Groves High School student who got caught up in the juvenile justice system. READ: Free Grace -- Oakland County judge sends teen to juvenile detention over school workOn Friday night, Oakland County Judge Mary Ellen Brennan denied the girls immediate release and scheduled a hearing for Monday at 10 a.m.We remain hopeful that Judge Brennan reconsiders her earlier decision, and releases Grace back into the care of her mother, said Jon C. Biernat, the attorney for Grace.The teen has been held in juvenile detention since May for not completing her online school work, according to the group Justice for Grace. This situation is an emotional challenge, but is also a window into the brokenness that demands and deserves attention and repair as to prevent other children and families from being negatively impacted by a system that is supposed to offer protection and support.

BEVERLY HILLS, Mich. A teenage girl was sent back to juvenile detention for not completing her homework and protesters are calling it racial discrimination. The controversy centers around a Wylie E. Groves High School student who got caught up in the juvenile justice system. A judge decided the teen, named Grace, violated her probation by not completing online schoolwork and sent her to juvenile detention. I know if Grace was a 15-year-old White girl she would not be sitting in juvenile detention right now, said Sheri Crawley. Then she broke down when she heard Oakland County Family Court presiding judge Mary Ellen Brennan sent Grace to juvenile detention for violating her probation by not finishing her online school work.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A white woman who used racial slurs as she attacked a black car salesman at a western Michigan dealership has avoided jail, despite a tearful appeal from the victim for her to be given behind bars. Judge Paul Sullivan on Tuesday sentenced Shelly Hueckel of Nashville, Michigan, to two years of probation. Hueckel was convicted in December of misdemeanor assault but cleared of ethnic intimidation, a felony. “It was ethnic intimidation. I’m going to say it again: ethnic intimidation,” Smith told the judge Tuesday.

DETROIT – Michigan State Police troopers found a loaded AR-15 in a man’s vehicle after he drove off from a traffic stop. It happened on the John C. Lodge Freeway, near Livernois Avenue, on Detroit’s west side Friday night. Police said they saw a man driving up a closed freeway ramp at about 11:30 p.m. and when they attempted to pull him over, the man drove back onto the Lodge. According to authorities, there was a low-speed chase that ended quickly when the man got stuck in traffic. A loaded AR-15 was found in the vehicle’s trunk.