Court of Appeals overturns benefits for wife of deputy

HASTINGS (AP) — The Michigan appeals court has overturned a decision that granted benefits to the wife of a sheriff’s deputy who died in a motorcycle crash after spending hours with a mistress.

There’s no dispute that Christopher Yonkers was not working as a Barry County deputy shortly before the 2008 crash.

The state Commission on Law Enforcement Standards denied benefits to Yonkers’ widow. But Ingham County Judge James Jamo reversed that ruling, saying Yonkers
could have been checking a crime suspect’s house on the way home from a motel.

In a recently released opinion, the appeals court said the judge exceeded his limited authority when reviewing a decision by the commission.

The court nonetheless sent the case back to the law enforcement commission for further elaboration on the decision to deny benefits.