State Roundup

Highland Twp. Man's Facebook encounter ends in robbery, beating HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- Authorities say a Detroit-area man claims that he was beaten and robbed by a group of men prior to an arranged sexual encounter with a woman he had been communicating with on Facebook. No arrests were reported Wednesday from Sunday's attack in Oakland County's Highland Township, about 30 miles northwest of Detroit. The 34-year-old Novi man suffered a broken jaw. The man told police he and the woman met at a gas station and that he followed her to a park where he was ambushed. He says the men robbed him and drove his sport utility vehicle into a nearby lake. A person driving by saw the bleeding man walk from the park and called 911. Pontiac Michigan man pleads no contest in carp bow case PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) -- A Michigan man who authorities say fired a contraption used to harpoon carp at two anglers has pleaded no contest in the case. The Detroit Free Press reports 49-year-old Anthony Miller lives on White Lake in western Oakland County and was accused of firing the carp bow on Aug. 30. Miller on Tuesday pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct after prosecutors agreed to drop an assault charge. He also pleaded no contest to harassing an angler. Miller is expected to be sentenced to probation July 14. Miller's lawyer C. Clifford Chadwick says the anglers were verbally assaultive. Authorities say a camera on the anglers' boat captured images of Miller with the bow and an arrow in the water. Miller told authorities he didn't fire the bow. Warren Charges aren't planned in killing of Mich. burglar WARREN, Mich. (AP) -- Prosecutors say they won't bring charges against a Detroit-area homeowner who fatally shot a 17-year-old boy who was burglarizing his house. William Cataldo is the chief of homicide cases for the Macomb County prosecutor's office. He tells The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens on Tuesday that the 31-year-old homeowner in Warren had a right to defend himself when Mack Click climbed through a window on May 2. Prosecutors say the teen was armed with a knife. Police say the homeowner fired one shotgun blast, striking the teen in the groin and thigh. Police say the homeowner had medical marijuana but they've ruled that out as a factor in the break-in. Police say the teen and the homeowner didn't know each other. Spring Arbor Twp. Woman arrested after taking pills, driving kids SPRING ARBOR TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- Authorities in Jackson County say they arrested a woman who was extremely intoxicated by methadone pills while she drove a vehicle with her 2- and 7-year-old children inside. The sheriff's department says a deputy stopped the Concord woman Tuesday evening in Spring Arbor Township after responding to a 911 call from a motorist reporting an erratic driver. The department says she had been taking methadone pills that hadn't been prescribed. The woman was arrested and was being held at the Jackson County jail pending charges. The children were turned over to a relative. Grant Twp. Township gets public info, taxpayers get bill GRANT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- A township's lawsuit over getting public documents from Michigan state government has cost taxpayers nearly $11,000. Grant Township in Clare County sued after the State Tax Commission refused to turn over records to explain why the local assessor's office got a poor review in 2009. Attorney William Fahey says the Tax Commission insisted the information was top secret, so he filed a lawsuit. Fahey says the case lasted months before a new assistant attorney general was assigned to it. By late March, he says the state settled by paying $10,800 in legal bills and fulfilling the public records request. It amounted to just four pages. The Treasury Department says the case was settled based on advice from the attorney general's office. The township is 75 miles northeast of Grand Rapids. Detroit Prosecutor: Keep heat on Kilpatrick, book profit DETROIT (AP) -- Prosecutors are asking a judge to ensure that money from ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's new book goes to pay his debt to the city. In an order signed Tuesday, Wayne County Judge David Groner scheduled a June 15 hearing. Kilpatrick's book titled "Surrendered! The Rise, Fall and Revelation of Kwame Kilpatrick" comes out Aug. 1. He promises to discuss the scandal that put him in prison and ended his career as mayor in 2008. Kilpatrick was ordered to pay $1 million to Detroit and still owes about $861,000. He promised The Associated Press last week that "any penny" in personal profit will go to the city. Prosecutor Kym Worthy seeks a court order, saying it's "highly unlikely" Kilpatrick can be trusted. Publisher Creative Publishing Consultants says it won't comment. Grand Rapids Jury gets to work on case of missing W. Mich. man GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- Jurors in Grand Rapids are in their first full day of deliberations in the trial of a man charged with kidnapping a retiree who still is missing nearly four years later. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phil Green told jurors that Amway retiree Donald Dietz was the "perfect mark" for Rami Saba because he had money and lived in a secluded area in Ionia County, east of Grand Rapids. The charges against Saba include fraud, kidnapping and identity theft. The government claims the former scientist was working in financial services and desperate to get Dietz' retirement nest egg. Jurors in federal court in Grand Rapids heard closing arguments Tuesday and resumed deliberations Wednesday. Saba is representing himself. He says the allegations offered by prosecutors are "worse than a bad Hollywood movie." Grayling Crews contain wildfire that forced evacuations GRAYLING, Mich. (AP) -- Fire crews have fully contained a blaze that burned 750 to 800 acres of northern Michigan woodlands, destroyed or damaged several buildings and forced the evacuation of 100 homes, a state spokeswoman said Wednesday. The fire broke out about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Howes Lake area of Crawford County west of Grayling, a town of about 1,800 about 125 miles north-northeast of Grand Rapids. No injuries have been reported, and the source of the blaze wasn't immediately determined. The fire was 100 percent contained by midnight, said Mary Dettloff, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Evacuated residents were allowed home and crews were planning to put out hot spots Wednesday, she said. "Crews will be back out ... to hold the line, mop up," Dettloff told The Associated Press. "We'll be investigating the origins." The fire destroyed one or two non-residential buildings and damaged the siding of about five homes, Dettloff said. Several factors laid the groundwork for the fire, including a lack of rain in the past few days, temperatures that pushed into the low 90s and blustery winds, Dettloff said. Mitigating the risk were the area's heavy rains within the past month and the fact that highly flammable jack pines make up only a portion of the forest, which also contains red pines and oak. The fire jumped the Manistee River Road, where about 100 houses were evacuated, and a shelter was opened at the Resurrection Life Church. Officials on Wednesday continued to block access to non-residents, Dettloff said. The DNR had about 30 fire personnel on the scene, Dettloff said. Numerous other fire and police agencies were helping in the effort. Spring wildfires are common in the region. Two fires in May 2010 scorched about 10,000 acres in Crawford County, destroying a dozen homes. Published: Thu, Jun 9, 2011