State Roundup

Dearborn City sued over arrests of Christian missionaries DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- A Christian legal advocacy group has sued Dearborn, several city officials and others over the treatment of Christian missionaries at an Arab cultural festival. Ann Arbor-based Thomas More Law Center announced Tuesday it had filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Detroit. It stems in part from the June arrests in the heavily Arab Detroit suburb of four members of the Christian group Acts 17 Apologetics, which maintains that Islam is a false religion and inherently violent. Dearborn spokeswoman Mary Laundroche says Wednesday the city couldn't comment because it hadn't yet been served with the lawsuit. A jury in September acquitted the missionaries of disorderly conduct at the Dearborn Arab International Festival. The law center also says two missionaries were harassed by police for passing out religious literature. Southfield Police: Girl lets bank know mom is drinking SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (AP) -- Southfield police say a 9-year-old girl slipped a note to a bank teller that said her mother had been drinking. Lt. Nick Loussia (loo-SEE'-uh) tells The Detroit News Latanya Evans was arrested Friday after she left her daughter at a Bank of America branch in the Detroit suburb. The Detroit Free Press reports police found Evans nearby, where she failed field sobriety tests and a preliminary breath analysis test. The 49-year-old is charged with driving while drunk and driving on a suspended license. She has been released on a $2,500 bond and is to appear in court on Thursday. Evans doesn't have an attorney, and there is no phone listing for her. Loussia says after the child gave the note, bank employees tried to keep the two from leaving. Bay City Woman accused of swiping ambulance gets 2-10 years BAY CITY, Mich. (AP) -- A Bay County woman accused of going on a drunken joyride in an ambulance has been sentenced to between two and 10 years in prison. A judge in Bay City on Tuesday sentenced 32-year-old Hydi Danks of Bangor Township. In court, she apologized for her actions. She earlier pleaded no contest to larceny from a person, assaulting, resisting or obstructing police and reckless driving. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to dismiss two counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and single counts of motor vehicle theft and operating a motor vehicle without the proper license. Authorities say Danks stole an ambulance on July 10 and later abandoned it before stealing a cell phone from a bystander and fleeing. Bay City police arrested her a few blocks away after a brief chase. Howell Family mourns Michigan State grad slain by pirates HOWELL, Mich. (AP) -- Relatives of a former Michigan woman killed by Somali pirates said Tuesday that she was having the adventure of a lifetime sailing the world on a luxury yacht. Phyllis Macay of Seattle and three others were shot to death Tuesday by pirates, who boarded their yacht Friday and took them hostage several hundred miles south of Oman. The pirates shot the four after firing a rocket-propelled grenade at a U.S. warship, one of several vessels tracking the hijacked boat over the weekend. Two pirates were killed and 15 captured. Macay, 59, is a former resident of the Detroit suburb of Southfield and a graduate of Michigan State University. "She visited remote islands, remote places. She was always intrigued to meet the people and live the lifestyle," her brother, John Macay of Howell, told WLNS-TV. Sister-in-law Terry Macay said Phyllis Macay "just came home full of her adventures, and for all of us who weren't going to be able to do something like that, you almost felt like you were a part of it." Phyllis Macay was traveling with fellow Seattle resident Bob Riggle and Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, Calif., owners of the 58-foot yacht, the Quest. "She was living her dream,' her cousin, Jeanne Ruff of Livonia, told The Detroit News. "Every time I got a Christmas card from her, I'd go, 'Look at that -- she's in Aruba or somewhere else.' How many people who say they want to sail the world do it? She's always moving. Macay was the oldest of six children, grew up in Southfield and graduated from Southfield High School in 1969 and later from Michigan State. She moved to Seattle about 25 years ago, relatives said. Macay joined a singles sailing group and began going on trips because she "loved the water, loved sailboats," Ruff said. "She was always full of adventure, always willing to jump in with both feet." Highland Park State senator hurts hand after pit bull attack HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. (AP) -- A Michigan state senator has been injured after getting his hand caught in a snow blower while fending off a pit bull attack. Highland Park Democrat Bert Johnson was recovering Tuesday. The Detroit Free Press and Booth Newspapers say the incident happened Monday afternoon while Johnson was clearing snow hear his home in the Detroit enclave. Johnson says the pit bull charged him while he was clearing snow. Johnson says he slipped and put a hand down to try and steady himself. The hand got caught in the snow blower. The 37-year-old drove himself to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery to help repair and reconstruct his hand. Published: Thu, Feb 24, 2011