State Roundup

Rome Township Michigan authorities seize 7,000 marijuana plants ROME TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- Authorities say they've seized about 7,000 marijuana plants worth an estimated $7 million from a property in Lenawee County. Michigan State Police say troopers from the Office of Monroe Narcotics Investigations made the seizure on Monday from a greenhouse, barn and several fields in Rome Township, located about 65 miles southwest of Detroit. A husband and wife in their 60s were arrested. Names weren't released Tuesday morning pending arraignment. Police say plants ranged from seedlings to mature ones ready for harvest, and several more fields were being prepared for growing. Investigators went to the property following a tip that was given to a detective with the Lenawee County sheriff's department. Authorities also seized were grow lights, a watering system and ventilation equipment, as well about 25 pounds of processed marijuana. Detroit Kenyan ordered out of U.S. gets case reopened DETROIT (AP) -- A federal immigration board has reopened the deportation case of a Kenyan who attended a Michigan college and wrote a book about his conversion to Christianity from Islam. Hussein Wario says Christians continue to be persecuted in Kenya, and he fears he will be severely punished. Wario graduated in 2000 from Hope College in western Michigan and wrote a book, "Cracks in the Crescent," about his conversion to Christianity. The Board of Immigration Appeals recently ordered a judge to take another look at Wario's case. The Chicago-area resident is married to a U.S. citizen and could be eligible to stay in the country. An appeals court last year refused to intervene, saying the 36-year-old Wario could safely return to Kenya by avoiding his hometown. Battle Creek Man gets life for two murders in 2004 BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) -- A man has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for fatally shooting two people seven years ago on the campus of a Michigan community college. Elliott Patterson learned his fate Monday in Calhoun County Circuit Court. He was charged in the March 2004 deaths of 17-year-old Antwain Carmouche and 20-year-old Clova Keyes and the wounding of 24-year-old Eric Wazner. The 32-year-old Patterson was found guilty in May of first-degree murder in both killings and assault with intent to murder in the attack on Wazner. The victims were shot in a car parked in a remote lot on the Kellogg Community College campus in Battle Creek. Defense attorney Ken Marks says his client will appeal. Suttons Bay Man gets up to 5 years in prison for killing puppy SUTTONS BAY, Mich. (AP) -- A Mount Pleasant man who police say drunkenly kicked a puppy to death in northern Lower Michigan has been sentenced to up to 5 years in prison. Maurice Francis was sentenced Monday in Suttons Bay to 1-1/2 to 5 years in the case. He pleaded guilty last month to killing or torturing an animal and felony drunken driving. The 21-year-old blames his behavior on alcohol abuse. He apologized to a packed courtroom and asked for forgiveness before being sentenced. Authorities say Francis smashed out the windows of a woman's vehicle in the Leelanau County community of Northport in March and kicking Blu, a 12-week-old dog. Blu later died from the injuries. Port Huron Life without parole for man in 2 machete slayings PORT HURON, Mich. (AP) -- A judge in Port Huron has given a 35-year-old man the mandatory prison sentence of life without parole for a drug-related machete attack on four people that left two of them dead. St. Clair County Circuit Judge James Adair issued the sentence Monday to Jorge Diaz (HOHR'-hay DEE'-ahz) Jr. of Lexington. A jury last month convicted him of first-degree murder and assault with intent to murder. The Aug. 24 attack killed Laura Arnold and Johnnie Grafton and wounded Don Brennan and Thomas Gracy. Authorities say Diaz planned the attack because he suspected Arnold and Brennan ripped him off when they sold him crack cocaine. Diaz testified that a man named Jesse carried out the attack. Troy Kevorkian public service set Friday near Detroit TROY, Mich. (AP) -- A public memorial service is planned for assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian Friday in suburban Detroit, his longtime friend said. The ceremony is being held at 9:30 a.m. at White Chapel Memorial Cemetery in Troy, said attorney Mayer Morganroth. Kevorkian, 83, died Friday at Royal Oak's Beaumont Hospital, where he was being treated for pneumonia and kidney problems. Kevorkian has said he attended about 130 deaths. Kevorkian was convicted in 1999 of second-degree murder and sentenced to 10-25 years in prison. He was released after promising in affidavits that he would not assist in more suicides. Lansing State sues drug wholesaler over Medicaid bills LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette is accusing a prescription drug wholesaler of illegally inflating prices of medicine purchased by the state's Medicaid program. Schuette says he's filed a lawsuit seeking to recover millions of dollars from McKesson Corp. The attorney general says Michigan spent about $2 billion on brand-name pharmaceuticals from McKesson from 2001 to 2009. The lawsuit filed in Ingham County court also names other defendants, including the company that publishes drug pricing data. An email seeking comment was left Monday with San Francisco-based McKesson. Schuette is promising to "bring the hammer down" on anyone who tries to cheat Michigan. The lawsuit isn't unique. Schuette spokeswoman Joy Yearout says other states have sued and settled. Published: Wed, Jun 8, 2011