Michigan Criminal Lawyers Blog

January 4, 2016

Interesting Facts Related to Michigan DUI Arrests

Michigan State Police collected statistics for drunk driving charges and arrests for 2014, and there are some very interesting facts according to a recent article at Mlive.com. Michigan’s 2014 Drunk Driving Audit confirmed that just over 35,000 individuals in the state were convicted on DUI charges in 2014. What else did we learn?

Over the last decade, arrests and convictions have dropped by 35% across the state. Does this mean fewer people are driving while under the influence? Not necessarily – people are driving less. Annual reports indicate that over the past ten years, vehicle miles driven have also dropped by about 30%. Another factor for the reduction in DUI arrests and convictions is that there are fewer traffic stops because of a smaller police force, resulting in fewer road patrols.

The good news is that over the last decade, impaired driving resulting in injury has dropped by 30%, while the number of deaths attributed to accidents caused by drunk drivers has dropped by 19%.

January 1, 2016

Attorneys Seek New Trial for Houston Man Convicted of Strangulation, Soon to be Executed

by Scott Grabel

In 2001, Richard Masterson was found guilty of the February strangulation of 35-year-old Darrin Honeycutt in Houston, TX. Masterson is scheduled to be executed in less than three weeks, however his lawyers are now arguing that Masterson’s conviction was based on a questionable confession and botched autopsy, according to an article at the Houston Chronicle. The victim was a female impersonator, according to reports.

According to Masterson, the two were engaged in sexual activity when Honeycutt accidentally died. However, Masterson’s attorneys contend that the Harris County medical examiner erroneously classified the victim’s death as a homicide, even though while the death was attributed to strangulation the medical examiner suggested the victim’s neck had not been subject to deadly pressure. Masterson’s lawyers claim that at the time he confessed to the crime, he was suffering from mental illness.
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December 29, 2015

Georgia Woman Arrested for Possession of Controlled Substance on Christmas Eve

by Scott Grabel

On Christmas Eve, Thomasville, GA police pulled a vehicle over at approximately 6:30 p.m. for having no tag lights. According to a news article at the Times Enterprise, upon stopping the pickup truck the officer noticed a strong odor of what he suspected to be burned marijuana. At this point, police searched the vehicle and its occupants.

What essentially began as a traffic stop turned into something much larger, as a passenger of the vehicle was found to have a Schedule I narcotic drug on her person. According to Kevin Lee, commander of the Thomas County/Thomasville Narcotics/Vice Division, the drug found in a plastic bag in the crotch area of the pants worn by the passenger was believed to be a synthetic substance such as molly or flakka. The woman who had the drug on her person was 36-year-old Jamie Lynn Gordon. She was charged with possession of a Schedule I controlled substance.
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December 28, 2015

Fire Chief in California Arrested on Suspicion of DUI

by Scott Grabel

On Friday December 18, 60-year-old William Dekker, Garden Valley Fire chief, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies.

The incident began when a neighbor of Dekker’s called the sheriff’s office reporting a dispute in Greenwood, where Dekker lived. The man told deputies that he and Dekker had gotten into an argument over a loose dog, and that Dekker threatened to shoot the man. When deputies arrived in Greenwood, they saw Dekker driving by and flagged him down.

Upon speaking with Dekker about the incident, deputies suspected he may have been drinking. They then conducted a series of field sobriety tests, and determined that the fire chief was under the influence of alcohol. He was arrested and booked into the county jail, and later released on $5,000 bail. At the time of his arrest, Dekker was driving his own personal vehicle.

December 24, 2015

Philadelphia Monsignor’s Conviction Vacated by Appeals Court, New Trial Ordered

by Scott Grabel

Recently it was announced that the conviction of Msgr. William J. Lynn for endangering the welfare of a child has been vacated by a Pennsylvania appeals court. Lynn, who was convicted in 2012, was serving a three-to-six year prison sentence. According to a news article at NCR Online, Lynn was the first Catholic administrator in the country to be imprisoned for failure to sufficiently supervise a sexually abusive priest.

A new trial has been ordered in the case, however in the appeals court’s decision, the judges found that the trial court “abused its discretion” in allowing evidence against the monsignor which include 21 supplemental cases of sex abuse, some dated back to three years before the defendant was even born. The original trial was overseen by Judge M. Teresa Sarmina in the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, who was blasted in the Superior Court judges’ decision.

December 22, 2015

Drug Arrest Results in Loss of Job for Florida Child-welfare Case Manager

by Scott Grabel

Recently, 42-year-old Cleopatra Price lost her job as a child-welfare case manager with Impower, an organization subcontracted by Brevard Family Partnership when she was arrested for allegedly trafficking methamphetamine and heroin.

In a December 21 news article at Florida Today, Dept. of Children and Families spokeswoman Kristi Gray stated that Price worked directly with families in some kind of capacity, a position of trust. Gray went on to say this type of charge is “absolutely unacceptable.” In her position as child-welfare case manager, Price oversaw 17 cases involving children and families.

Following a series of undercover drug buys of cocaine and heroin which Price was allegedly involved in, Brevard County sheriff’s deputies carried out a search warrant at her home. Removed from her $39,000 per year position, Price was charged with possession of meth with intent to sell, trafficking 30.5 grams of cocaine, and trafficking 56 grams of heroin. Authorities also claim to have discovered marijuana, Oxycodone pills, and three stolen handguns in Price’s dresser drawer. Her live-in boyfriend, Raybean Phillips, was also arrested and charged with various drug offenses.

December 21, 2015

North Royalton Man Arrested for DUI After Speeding Out of Taco Bell Drive-thru

by Scott Grabel

Recently, a man whose name was not revealed was pulled over by North Royalton Police after an officer observed the driver speeding out of a Taco Bell drive-thru in a Dodge Avenger. The incident took place on December 11 in North Royalton, OH according to news reports.

The officer claimed he noticed the smell of alcohol when talking to the driver. He also said the man acted drunk. While the driver denied he had been drinking, he replied “really?” when the officer asked him about the smell. The officer did comment that the driver was polite.

While talking to the driver, the officer noticed what he believed to be marijuana in the center console of the vehicle. Upon searching the Avenger, he discovered a jar filled with marijuana, a pipe, and grinder. The officer administered a field sobriety test, which the driver failed. During the test, the suspect reportedly made the comment “It got a little hard there at the end.”

December 18, 2015

Milford Woman Charged with Murder in Beating Death of Husband

by Scott Grabel

Recently, a 58-year-old Milford woman was charged with the murder of her 68-year-old husband, who was suffering from dementia according to an article at People.com. Yvonne Helen Cortis allegedly bludgeoned Gregory Cortis using a metal rod, then attacked the couple’s dog.

The incident occurred on November 30. While Cortis sustained multiple fatal injuries to his head and torso due to blunt force trauma, the 11-year-old golden Labrador retriever, Carly, survived the beating.

A news report at the Detroit Free Press reveals Cortis used a crowbar to beat her husband and the couple’s dog. She reportedly called 911, and told the dispatcher there was a man and dog inside her home in the 1300 block of Nortoon with serious injuries that she had caused. When talking to investigators, Cortis told them that both Gregory Cortis and the dog were sick, and that she put them out of their misery.

December 15, 2015

Tip from Pizza Delivery Driver Leads Police to Door of Suspected Drug Dealer in Ohio

by Scott Grabel

Recently, a 20-year-old Mason, OH man was arrested after a pizza delivery driver from LaRosa’s Pizza provided the tip police needed to arrest the man for passing counterfeit $50 bills around town. When police arrived at the suspect’s doorstep, they found more than they bargained for.

According to a news report at WLWT5, the pizza delivery driver was given a $50 bill in payment for the pizza. When the note looked suspect to the driver, he drove straight back to the LaRosa’s location, where store officials called police. Police had been aware that fake $50 bills were used at various businesses in the area, and they had a surveillance video of the suspect at a Marathon gas station. When police found the pizza delivery was made to the same address where the suspect on the Marathon gas station video lived, they obtained a search warrant for the condo.

Upon searching the home of 20-year-old Devon Jicarr Cardwell, police found not only counterfeit $20 and $50 bills in the floor vents of one of the rooms, they also found marijuana packaged for sale and three guns. All of these items were in a single room within the condo; Cardwell was not allowed to own or possess firearms because he was a convicted felon. He was charged with drug trafficking, having weapons under disability, and forgery.

December 14, 2015

22-year-old Longwood Woman Arrested for DUI After Driving with 5-month-old Son, Crashing into Another Driver Head-on, More

by Scott Grabel

On Thursday December 10, a Longwood woman allegedly kicked a Florida Highway Patrol officer, sideswiped one vehicle and crashed head-on into another, and drove with her 5-month-old baby in the back seat of the vehicle, according to an article at the Orlando Sentinel. Troopers say 22-year-old Carlene Musselwhite was driving drunk when all of this occurred.

Following the two incidents with other vehicles, troopers found Musselwhite after a resident in the neighborhood she was in helped her out of her vehicle, and called 911. Upon their arrival, troopers found the baby in the back seat of the vehicle. They noticed that Musselwhite had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol, according to the arrest affidavit. Musselwhite did not deny she had been drinking, telling officers she had been at a work event; however she did say she was not impaired. She was put into handcuffs after failing two field sobriety tests.

Three troopers had to wrestle Musselwhite into the back of a patrol car after she refused to get in. Once in the vehicle, she reportedly kicked a window out of its frame. A sergeant arrived after the troopers removed her from the patrol car. Upon trying to put her into his own car, she allegedly kicked the sergeant.