Felonies

July 15, 2020

Rochester Hills Man to be Resentenced for Shooting at Black Teen Who Came to Ask for Directions

Original Case Details

This case garnered national attention when it first occurred. It involves a 55-year-old retired firefighter, who shot at a lost teenager who had stopped at his house to ask for directions. The teenager was black, and the man was white. The man, Jeffrey Zeigler, was convicted by jury of assault with intent to do great bodily harm as well as felony firearm for shooting at the teenager as he ran away from the house. Luckily, the teenager was not shot in the incident. Surveillance video from Zeigler’s home showed the teenager running away at the time the shots were fired. Zeigler was sentenced to 2-10 years in prison for the assault charge as well as an additional two years for the felony firearm conviction.

How the Sentencing Guidelines Work

September 11, 2017

Looting, Price Gouging, & Other Unfortunate Consequences of Hurricanes

by Scott Grabel

Unfortunately, many people look at the potential misfortune others face as an opportunity to “loot” others’ possession, raise

Courtesy NOAA National Weather Service National Hurricane Center/Handout

prices, and commit other crimes. Given the harsh hurricane season and Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, those in the Houston areas and all across Florida may become the victims of looters and price gouging in addition to the other issues they face following the devastation often left behind.

Following Hurricane Harvey in the Houston area, officials were not going to make it easy for those who were considering breaking into homes or businesses for the purpose of stealing. Lawmakers vowed zero tolerance for looters, and according to news reports arrested 14 individuals. Other reports claimed that following the hurricane, nearly 100 firearms were stolen from stores in the area. Continue reading

July 17, 2015

Ferndale Man to Go to Trial on Charges of Felony Assault in Alleged Beating of Friend Over Electric Fan

by Scott Grabel

In late June, 56-year-old Mitchell Moore of Ferndale was charged with assault with intent to cause great bodily harm less than murder when he allegedly beat a friend using a wooden table leg after the two became involved in an argument over an electric fan. According to an article at The Oakland Press, the charge against Moore has now been reduced to felony assault.

On June 27, police were called to a residence on McDowell when it was suspected Moore had attacked a friend. Moore rents an upstairs apartment in the home, and he and the homeowner had allegedly been drinking the day the attack occurred. One of Moore’s friends, a 53-year-old Hazel park man, stopped by the residence to pick up an electric fan he had let Moore borrow. The fan was the man’s mother’s, and she wanted it back. According to police, when the Hazel Park many went upstairs to Moore’s apartment to retrieve his mother’s fan, an argument erupted.
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