Battle Creek
Kellogg launches Battle Creek economic project
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) - Cereal maker Kellogg and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation plan to work with Battle Creek residents to address economic issues in the city.
The Battle Creek-based company and philanthropic organization introduced an economic development initiative at a community stakeholders meeting Monday, the Battle Creek Enquirer reported. Foundation president and CEO La June Montgomery Tabron said she expects the whole community to work together to improve Battle Creek. She said she knows the community is "sick and tired of having meetings just to have meetings."
The event was hosted by Tabron and John Bryant, chairman, president and CEO of Kellogg, both of whom spoke earlier this year about forging partnerships to better serve the community.
The initiative aims to address issues of employment, education and quality of life. Project implementation will begin in May.
The initiative is a four-phase process that began in April with the collection of data through research and focus groups.
Focus group data compiled by Kellogg shows residents cite jobs and the economy as the most serious problems facing the area. It found other important areas on which to improve are unemployment, crime and drugs.
The initiative will continue with stakeholder and community readiness meetings, plan development and strategic implementation.
Flint
Sentence doesn't stand in fatal shooting of driver
FLINT, Mich. (AP) - A young Flint man convicted in the fatal shooting of a pizza delivery driver could eventually get the chance to leave prison after he was re-sentenced following changes in Michigan law that came in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Archie Hayman sentenced 20-year-old Juwan Wickware to 30-60 years in prison on Monday. Wickware's attorney, Jodi Hemingway, told The Flint Journal she feels like "a wrong has been righted."
Wickware received life in prison without parole in August 2013. The sentencing phase of his first-degree murder case was unusual because he was 16 when Michael Nettles, 33, was killed in 2012. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 said teens can't automatically get mandatory no-parole sentences.
Before the 2013 sentence, Hayman held two days of hearings about Wickware's mental status, criminal history and childhood. At the time, Hayman still came to the conclusion a no-parole sentence was appropriate.
In Michigan, the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder is life in prison without parole. In March, Gov. Rick Snyder signed a law changing sentencing rules for juvenile defendants convicted of murder and other serious crimes to bring Michigan into compliance with the Supreme Court ruling.
The change in Michigan law affected Wickware's case. Prosecutors can still seek life sentences without parole, but they can't be mandatory on judges. Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton's office agreed to the re-sentencing hearing, but wanted the sentence unchanged.
"Our position was he should be sentenced to life without parole," Leyton said.
Witnesses testified during trial that a teen who was charged but eventually acquitted fired a .40-caliber pistol and Wickware fired a .22-caliber rifle at Nettles. A .40-caliber bullet was found in Nettles and .22-caliber bullet casings were found at the scene.
Testimony showed that Nettles was shot eight times. Leyton said Wickware shouldn't get a pass just because his shots missed.
"I think it was an egregious crime," Leyton said.
Hartland Township
Marketing firm sues client over online comments
HARTLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - A Hartland Township marketing and Web design firm is suing a former client for comments it made about the company online and in a letter to a business networking group.
The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus of Howell reports Five Sparrows filed the defamation suit against James Beasley and his business, Spot Shooter Archery. Five Sparrows created a website for the Holly-based company last year.
Beasley is quoted court in documents as saying his business had "zero return on our investment" on Google's networking site. He warns people not to work with Five Sparrows.
A Five Sparrows attorney says it's protecting its reputation against false and misleading statements. The company is seeking damages of more than $25,000.
Beasley says the dispute has been "blown way out of proportion."
Saginaw
Man charged with sex assault of 2 teens over 4 years
SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) - An Oakley man has been charged with sexually assaulting two teenage boys over a four-year period.
The Saginaw News reports 48-year-old Emil Sporcic Jr. is charged with five counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and five counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct by force or coercion.
Police say he sexually assaulted the boys from January 2010 to August 2014 in Saginaw County. They are now in their late teens.
Sporcic could face a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted of the first-degree charge.
He is being held without bond at the Saginaw County jail. Online jail records didn't indicate an attorney.
Paw Paw
Man gets at least 17 years for assaulting woman
PAW PAW, Mich. (AP) - A Michigan man has been sentenced to 17 to 40 years in prison for assaulting his estranged girlfriend with the intent to commit murder.
The Kalamazoo Gazette reports 23-year-old Kane Reeves was sentenced Monday as a third-time habitual offender. He was found guilty of the assault charge and first-degree home invasion in August following a bench trial.
Van Buren County authorities say Reeves suspected his girlfriend of having an affair in October 2013. They describe the attack near Paw Paw as "vicious" and say he beat the woman so badly that she required reconstructive surgery on her face.
Authorities say she is the mother of his three children and testified during his trial.
