Michigan Criminal Lawyers Blog

June 29, 2020

Ingham County Prosecutors May Require a Review of Body Cam Footage Before Authorizing Resisting Arrest Charges

Original Case Details

The Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office is facing scrutiny for their policy not requiring assistant prosecutors to watch body camera footage before authorizing criminal charges against people. This issue has come into focus after the Prosecutor’s Office dismissed two counts of resisting arrest that it charged without watching the body camera footage from the East Lansing Police Department of the incident. Prosecutors realized that they made this mistake when the Defendant, Anthony Loggins had filed an excessive force complaint against the arresting officers. This resulted in Loggins being criminally charged with two counts of resisting arrest at the same time he had filed his complaint with the East Lansing Police Department. This caused prosecutors to actually watch the footage of the incident, leading to the dismissal of the charges as well as a promised change in practices and policies by the Ingham County Prosecutor’s office in how they authorize criminal charges in the first place. It is important to note that Loggins was initially pulled over in East Lansing for his failure to use a turn signal and was eventually arrested for driving while license suspended. Before he was arrested, he was ripped out of his vehicle and slammed on the ground. Incredibly, the police officer involved, Andrew Stephenson, knelt on Loggins neck after he was handcuffed. Luckily for everybody involved, Loggins didn’t die from this incident.

Potential Policies Discussed

June 26, 2020

MDOC Probation Officer Files Lawsuit Against Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office Following Dismissal of Perjury Charges

by Grabel & Associates

Original Case Details

A Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) probation officer was charged with three felony counts of perjury accusing the officer of lying during a child custody hearing. Disgraced and jailed former Livingston County Judge Theresa Brennan presided over the matter and she took over the questioning of the probation officer during the hearing. The probation officer was not allowed to finish her questions under the fire of Brennan’s questioning, which ultimately led to the Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office filing perjury charges against the probation officer for alleged lies during the hearing. The case was bound over for trial by Ingham County District Court Judge Donald Allen, when he found probable cause that a crime was committed by the probation agent. Genesee County Circuity Court Judge Richard Yuille later ruled that Judge Allen abused his discretion in finding probable cause against the probation officer for the crimes of perjury, and ultimately dismissed all the charges. Judge Yuille ruled that the probation officer’s statements were literally true and found that no perjury existed. The officer was suspended for a period of two years while this case was pending, leading to lost wages, as well as a tarnished reputation.

Lawsuit Claims

June 25, 2020

Plan for Statewide Police Misconduct Database Meets Opposition

by Grabel & Associates

The Desire for More Transparent Policing

A Michigan state representative out of Detroit to looking to pass legislation that creates and implements a centralized database of Michigan police officers who have been faced discipline as an officer. This database looks to make officers accountable for their actions and will also prevent police from being able to hide their disciplinary records while seeking employment in other police departments. Critics that support the status quo believe that more laws governing the police actually require additional funding and staff to enforce existing laws that are already in place. Critics also believe that a new database would be difficult to maintain because of the wide-ranging disciplinary issues that would exist on the database, from minor ones to more serious ones.

The representative seeking to create the database, Tyrone Carter, is a veteran of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office who served 25 years as an officer and retired in 2008. He is looking to gain bipartisan support for his proposal to have more accountability within police departments as well as statewide. He notes that he has been through not only the police academy, but also FBI training, and that officers are not trained to act in the way the officers did in the George Floyd murder. Carter does not believe that officers need more training, he believes that officers simply need to be held accountable for their actions.

June 25, 2020

Southfield City Clerk to Face Trial from Felony Charges for Election Fraud

by Grabel & Associates

Original Case Details

A city clerk who served the city of Southfield faces felony charges for allegedly altering voter file records during the 2018 elections. The clerk, Sherikia Hawkins is accused of altering 193 voter records that were under her control as a city clerk. The Oakland County Clerk’s Office noticed the irregularities during the 14-day canvass period that followed the 2018 election. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has stressed that all the votes that were made were actually counted, and that Hawkins’ alleged activity did not affect the outcome of the election in any way. When an absentee ballot makes it to the clerk’s office, it is supposed to be logged into the qualified voter file. The clerk is then supposed to check to make sure the entries made are valid and correct. Oakland County Elections Director Joseph Rozell noticed that ballot summary sheets were blank and contacted Hawkins to ask why. After speaking with her, it was his belief that Hawkins switched the original reports with altered reports. Records allegedly indicate that Hawkins’ username and computer were the source of the alterations to the records. Hawkins is the first African American to be elected as Southfield city clerk.

Criminal Charges Involved

June 24, 2020

Roadside Drug Testing Expands to the Rest of the State

by Grabel & Associates

Original Pilot Program

The State of Michigan launched the now-famous roadside drug testing pilot program back in 2017. The roadside drug testing program started out only in 5 counties; Berrien, Delta, Kent, St. Clair, and Washtenaw County. The program started with 31 “Drug Recognition Experts” who were assigned throughout the 12 police agencies between these 5 counties. A Drug Recognition Expert is an officer who has completed 72 hours of classroom study, along with 40 hours of field study before they are certified as “experts” by their respective police departments. These “experts” are not to be confused with expert witnesses, as the designation as a Drug Recognition Expert comes from police agencies and not a court. These Drug Recognition Experts were each given a saliva drug testing device to use if they suspect driving under the influence of drugs. If there was a saliva test that tested positive for the presence of drugs, then that sample would be sent to state lab for confirmation.

Current Changes

June 23, 2020

Newport Man Jailed on Ethnic Intimidation and Assault Charges

by Grabel & Associates

Original Case Details

Lee James Mouat Jr., a resident of the city of Newport in Monroe County, MI is accused of ethnic intimidation and assault charges for allegedly striking a black male in the face with a bicycle chain along with hurling a racial slur at the man. Mouat Jr. is 42 years old and the alleged victim is 18 years old. The attack is being viewed as racially motivated and as such, Mouat Jr. remains in custody pending his next court date. His bond is currently set at $100,000 cash or surety. It is alleged that two groups of people were swimming in the water at the beach at Sterling State Park. One group of people was all white, while the other group was all black. While the groups were leaving the water, they began to exchange insults. As the intensity grew in this situation, Mouat Jr. is alleged to have gone to his car and grabbed a bike lock. He then approached the victim, called him the “N” word, and hit him in the face with the lock. Once that happened, an all-out fight occurred between multiple people. The victim sustained serious injuries that were luckily not life threatening.

Criminal Charges Involved

June 22, 2020

Michigan Supreme Court Declines to Hear Case Involving Statements Made Without a Lawyer Present

by Grabel & Associates

Original Case Details

This case arises from a 2016 incident where the Defendant, Laricca Mathews of Wixom, called 911 to report the shooting of her boyfriend, Gabriel Dumas. Mathews was arrested for his murder and taken in for questioning without an attorney present. Before the interrogation began, the police gave Mathews a document that informed her of her constitutional rights. Mathews was interviewed twice and was told that she had a “right to a lawyer.” The police failed to mention specifically that she could have a lawyer present during police questioning, so Mathews spoke to the police without a lawyer present in both interviews. During the first interview, Mathews claimed that she shot her boyfriend Dumas in self-defense. In the second interview she claimed that the shooting took place face to face. Police confronted her statements by telling Mathews that Dumas was shot in the back of the head. Mathews responded by saying that the bullet may have ricocheted before hitting Dumas. Mathews was charged with murder and later filed a motion to suppress the statements made as they were in violation of her right to have a lawyer present during both interviews conducted by the police. Both the Oakland County Circuit Court and The Michigan Court of Appeals sided with Mathews, agreeing that the police violated her Constitutional right to an attorney.

The Fifth and Sixth Amendment

June 19, 2020

Three People Charged in Scheme to Defraud Veterans Program

by Grabel & Associates

Original Case Details

An alleged fraud scheme between three people has led to criminal charges for the theft of nearly $500,000 from both a federal veteran’s program and from the state of Michigan itself. It is alleged that over the course of six years, these individuals created fake names and either obtained or created fake documents, such as birth certificates, to make it look like they were to inherit money from various people who had died. It is alleged that the individuals stole more than $40,000 from the Michigan Department of Treasury and nearly $450,000 from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The defendants have been arraigned on their charges in the 18th District Court in Wayne County.

Criminal Charges Involved

June 18, 2020

Southfield Police Officer Accused of Causing Miscarriage by Using Taser on Pregnant Woman

by Grabel & Associates

Original Case Details

A Southfield Woman, Crystal White, was confronted by police when a concerned relative of White had called the Southfield Police Department due to White allegedly acting aggressively while holding a knife. White was attempting to take her daughter, who is six years old, even though her parental rights had been terminated previously. White was 12-weeks pregnant at the time of the incident. The relative who called the police informed them that White suffers from multiple mental illnesses. White did not have a knife in her possession when the police arrived, but apparently did not listen to directions from the police about advancing on them. White’s version of events differs from the police, as she claims that an officer lunged forward to punch her in the face, while another officer pulled his taser and hit her in the stomach. White was tasered two times during the struggle, once in the arm and once in the leg. She was taken into custody after the taser was deployed. About six weeks after the taser was used on White, she miscarried, losing her unborn child. White also suffered cuts and bruises, along with broken and damaged teeth from the incident. White’s lawsuit alleges that she would have been treated differently if she were not black and lived in an affluent area.

George Floyd Fallout

June 15, 2020

Appeals Court to Hear Case of Man Convicted of Shooting at Black Teenager Asking for Directions

by Grabel & Associates

Original Case Details

A Rochester Hills man was convicted in 2018 of assault to do great bodily harm less than murder and possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony. The white male was accused of shooting a gun at a black teenager who had come to his door asking directions after he got lost on his way to school. The victim was 14 years old and was luckily not hit by the bullet the man fired. The man testified at trial in his own defense, stating that he and his wife both mistakenly believed the victim to be an adult intruder. In actuality, the victim had missed his bus to school and got lost while trying to walk to school, leading to the victim going to the defendant’s front door to ask for directions. The defendant claimed he went outside holding his gun intending to fire a warning shot but slipped on a wet spot on his porch causing the gun to discharge. A home surveillance video showed who appeared to be the defendant aiming a gun in the direction of the victim and firing as he ran from the porch. When the man was sentenced in November of 2018, the victim’s mother told the judge that she believed that the shooting was racially motivated. The man had a previous conviction for firing a gun in a road rage incident. He was ultimately sentenced to 4 to 10 years in prison, a conviction and sentence which he is appealing.

Current Status of the Case