Mother, uncle charged after shotgun ‘accidentally fires,’ injuring 4-year-old boy in Taylor
A mother and her brother have been charged after the woman’s 4-year-old son was “accidentally” shot with a shotgun at a Taylor home, and the siblings initially provided a false police report, authorities said Wednesday.
Police: 15-year-old hurt teen at Detroit gas station, stood over him, fired fatal gunshots
A 15-year-old boy is facing a murder charge on accusations that he injured a teenage acquaintance with a single gunshot at a Detroit gas station, stood over him and fired several more shots at close range, killing him, according to police.
‘Tired of excuses’: Detroit family frustrated driver not yet charged nearly 2 years after sister’s death
On Dec. 15, 2019, Vanessa Simmons was on her way to work as a Detroit Police Department dispatcher when a man got on the Lodge Freeway, driving the wrong way and plowed into her head-on. Nearly two years later, the man has yet to be charged.
Driver charged in death of 9-year-old boy who was riding ATV
DETROIT – A 20-year-old man accused of reckless driving was charged Monday in the death of a 9-year-old Detroit boy who was struck while riding an all-terrain vehicle. Daveon Hardiman of Roseville was driving in the wrong direction and over the speed limit Saturday when he struck the ATV, authorities said. Hardiman was charged with reckless driving causing death, the Wayne County prosecutor's office said. The boy was identified as Mai’Juan Calderin. Read more: 9-year-old boy killed in Detroit by car driving wrong direction on one-way streetOriginal Story: Young child riding a 4-wheeler hit by a car and killed on Detroit’s east side
Former Detroit-area union treasurer charged, accused of embezzling close to $50K
DETROIT – A Detroit woman has been charged after she was accused of stealing money from the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO branch and Laborers International Hall of Fame (LIHOF). Prosecutors said Long served as treasurer of the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO branch and LIHOF, allegedly embezzling close to $50,000. A July 2018 financial review of accounting records revealed several unauthorized payments made to Long over the years. Prosecutors said that in 2018, representatives of the Metro Detroit AFL-CIO and LIHOF reported embezzlement to the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, leading to an investigation. It never ceases to amaze me the level of hubris that alleged embezzlers have,” said Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
Detroit man charged with 1st degree murder in shooting death of Uber driver
DETROIT – A Detroit man has been charged with first-degree murder and felony firearm in the death of an Uber driver in January. According to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, 25-year-old Carlous Skipper Jr. is accused of killing 43-year-old Yousef Al-Gabri. Prosecutors said that Skipper allegedly used a phone under a different name to call for an Uber. Officials alleged that when the driver arrived, Skipper shot him multiple times, fatally wounding him. On March 9, an investigation led to the identification and arrest of Skipper, who was arraigned Thursday.
How Kym Worthy broke barriers becoming first Black female Wayne County prosecutor
DETROIT – Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy achieved several milestones when she took the position in 2004. “I took the bench in January of 1995, and then returned to the prosecutor’s office nine years after that as the elected prosecutor,” Worthy said. Worthy has been working in the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office for decades, but when she took office in the early 2000′s, she became the first Black woman in the position. We convicted on-duty white police officers for beating to death a Black man, and juries convicted them of murder. It was the first case in the United States where that had happened where on-duty police officers were convicted of murder.
Grosse Pointe Park man who displayed KKK flag facing Black neighbor won’t face charges
GROSSE POINTE PARK, Mich. – Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy characterized the Ku Klux Klan flag displayed in a Grosse Pointe Park home as despicable and traumatizing but not a crime under the law. Under Michigan’s ethnic intimidation statute, it requires physical contact or damage and defacement to property. The flag has since been taken down after Grosse Pointe Park police went to the home. PREVIOUS: Residents protest KKK flag displayed in Grosse Pointe Park home facing Black neighbor“The way the ethnic intimidation law is written in Michigan, there had to be contact,” said JeDonna Dinges, who lives next door. The neighbor told police that the flag was put up because Dinges had a camera pointing into his home.
Detroit man released from prison after judge dismisses charges in 1994 murder conviction
On Thursday, Feb. 4, the now-45-year-old became a free man -- a moment his daughter Nakira Fantroy has been waiting for. Smith was convicted of first-degree murder and felony firearm on Nov. 29, 1994, in the death of Kenneth Hayes when Smith was only 19 years old. There was no conclusive forensic evidence that linked Mr. Smith to the case,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. “There was testimony in the case from a jail house informant claiming that Smith had confessed the murder to him. The dismissal of charges comes after an investigation by Prosecutor Kym Worthy and the WCPO Conviction Integrity Unit, headed by director Valerie Newman.
Wayne County prosecutor to dismiss all local cases related to state COVID-19 executive orders
DETROIT – The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office is dismissing all pending and adjudicated cases in the county related to COVID-19 executive orders issued by Gov. Prior to the court’s ruling, the Prosecutor’s Office and law enforcement issued ordinance violations and misdemeanors to people who allegedly violated the Emergency Management Act. But with the court’s ruling, the Prosecutor’s Office reviewed the cases and “determined that there is not a legal basis to proceed with them.”AdMore than 1,600 cases are in Detroit. “However, considering the Supreme Court’s decision, WCPO will no longer use criminal prosecution to enforce the governor’s Executive Order. It is my earnest hope that people will continue to wear face masks, social distance, quarantine when warranted.”Cases related to order violations to be dismissed (WCPO)
Detroit man fights for freedom after nearly 50 years in prison for crime he says he didn’t commit
DETROIT – Ray Gray has been in prison for nearly 50 years, one of Michigan’s longest serving inmates. For decades, Barbara Rinehart dreamed about the day her husband walks out of prison as a free man. He’s been filling canvases with wonder ever since, but a talented prison artist is just part of Gray’s story. But the cell remained locked tight, even after the intervention of Ellis Stafford, the deputy director of the Detroit Crime Commission who is convinced of Gray’s innocence. “He’ll fight to prove his innocence when he’s out if that’s what it takes but he won’t confess to something he didn’t do.”
Detroit man charged in shooting death of 22-year-old woman
DETROIT – Detroit resident Jason Mikel Craighead has been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Catrina Griffin. The shooting took place on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at around 10:56 p.m. in the 8500 block of Heyden Street in Detroit. Police say the shooting happened after an argument between Griffin and Craighead. According to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, Craighead pulled out a gun and fired it at Griffin after the argument escalated. Craighead, 42, has been charged with first degree murder, felon in possession of a firearm and felony firearm.
Detroit man charged in Dearborn road rage shooting
DEARBORN, Mich. – A 38-year-old Detroit man has been charged in connection with a road rage shooting in Dearborn, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutors have charged Luis Berrios-Rosario with assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, discharged of a firearm from a vehicle, felonious assault and four counts of felony firearm. The shooting happened Sunday in the area of Warren Avenue near Chase Road. Prosecutors said the the victim was traveling westbound on Warren Avenue toward Greenfield when he allegedly noticed a vehicle driving erratically. The victim allegedly drove alongside the Berrio-Rosario’s vehicle when he pulled out a gun and fired, striking the victim’s vehicle.