Michigan - Houston Stringer

Court rules Michigan school district may prohibit ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ sweatshirts under vulgarity policy

14Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, U.S.

Court rules Michigan school district may prohibit ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ sweatshirts under vulgarity policy

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld a Michigan school district’s decision to prohibit two students from wearing sweatshirts bearing the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon,” ruling that the phrase could be reasonably interpreted as vulgar and thus subject to regulation under the First Amendment’s student speech exceptions. According to Case No. 24-1769 filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan and appealed to the Sixth Circuit, two middle school students in Howard City wore sweatshirts to school in 2022 with the phrase widely understood as a euphemism for “F--- Joe Biden.” School administrators requested they remove the garments, citing the district’s dress code prohibiting vulgar or profane attire. The students’ mother, iden...

Sixth Circuit: First Step Act does not allow murder sentences to be reduced unless part of drug-related sentencing package

14Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Michigan, U.S.

Sixth Circuit: First Step Act does not allow murder sentences to be reduced unless part of drug-related sentencing package

DETROIT, MI — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated and remanded four reduced sentences issued under the First Step Act, finding that district courts may not reduce sentences for non-covered offenses such as murder, unless they were part of a sentencing package tied to a covered offense like a crack cocaine conspiracy. Edward Dale, Gene Polk, John Gordon, and Gregory Brown, members of Detroit’s “Best Friends” gang, were convicted in the 1990s of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and multiple homicides tied to drug trafficking. Each originally received life sentences on both drug and murder charges, plus additional firearm sentences. In 2018, the First Step Act allowed courts to retroactively reduce sentences for certain drug crimes involving crack cocaine. The di...

Sixth Circuit upholds sentence for Michigan felon caught with guns and drugs in multiple incidents

10Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Michigan

Sixth Circuit upholds sentence for Michigan felon caught with guns and drugs in multiple incidents

CINCINNATI, OHIO — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has upheld the sentence of George William Henry, a Michigan man who pleaded guilty to two firearms charges related to a drug-trafficking investigation in Kalamazoo. Henry was arrested in January 2023 after police executed a search warrant at his residence and found 30 grams of crack cocaine, distribution paraphernalia, and two loaded firearms, including an AR-15-style rifle with a bump stock. He admitted to possessing the firearms and told investigators he kept them for protection. Later incidents involving Henry included an August 2023 arrest during which officers found crack cocaine packaged for sale and a stolen handgun in a vehicle. In November 2023, Henry was stopped again and found with more cocaine and a lo...

Sixth Circuit upholds conviction of Michigan man for unlicensed gun dealing

10Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Michigan, Ohio

Sixth Circuit upholds conviction of Michigan man for unlicensed gun dealing

CINCINNATI, OHIO — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has upheld the conviction of Omar Shorter Jr., a Michigan man found guilty of engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license and making false statements during firearm purchases. According to court records, between July 2020 and December 2022, Shorter purchased 39 firearms, often in duplicate, but registered only two and reported one stolen. ATF agents began investigating after multiple firearms linked to Shorter were later recovered by police at crime scenes or in others’ possession. Evidence presented at trial included surveillance video, Cash App transactions, and Shorter’s own admissions to ATF agents. Shorter acknowledged selling approximately 28 or 29 of the firearms and stated he had “messed...

Eaton Rapids man killed in single-vehicle crash in Onondaga Township

10Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Michigan

Eaton Rapids man killed in single-vehicle crash in Onondaga Township

INGHAM COUNTY, MI – A 44-year-old Eaton Rapids man was killed in a single-vehicle crash on Kinneville Road in Onondaga Township, according to the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to the crash at approximately 2:30 a.m. and determined that the westbound vehicle failed to negotiate a curve, left the roadway, and struck a ditch. The driver sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. Assisting agencies included the Onondaga Township Fire Department, Mobile Medical Response (MMR), and the University of Michigan Survival Flight. The crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Deputy Kevin Stalzer at 517-676-8444, extension 1939.

Owosso man killed in head-on crash with semi in Leroy Township

10Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Michigan

Owosso man killed in head-on crash with semi in Leroy Township

INGHAM COUNTY, MI - A 48-year-old Owosso man was killed in a two-vehicle crash early Thursday morning in Leroy Township, according to the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded around 6 a.m. to the crash on Grand River Avenue between Gramer Road and Wallace Road. Preliminary investigation indicates that the man's eastbound SUV crossed the center line and collided head-on with a westbound semi-truck driven by a 66-year-old Fowlerville man. The SUV driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. The semi-truck driver was not injured. Assisting at the scene were the Northeast Ingham Emergency Service Authority (NIESA), Williamston Police Department, and the Ingham County Road Department. The crash remains under investigat...

Sixth Circuit upholds 25-year sentence for Michigan man convicted in meth trafficking case

7Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Michigan

Sixth Circuit upholds 25-year sentence for Michigan man convicted in meth trafficking case

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has affirmed the 300-month prison sentence of Corwin Monte Jett Jr., who was convicted in the Western District of Michigan for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to court records (Case No. 24-1667), Jett pleaded guilty to federal drug-trafficking charges stemming from a 2020 investigation in Kalamazoo. Law enforcement officials discovered nearly seven pounds of methamphetamine mailed from Las Vegas to Michigan, as well as firearms and cash during searches of multiple properties. Jett admitted to drug trafficking and firearm possession. After his release on probation and subsequent move to Atlanta, Jett was indicted in February 2023 and arrested that August upon returning to Mi...

Missing teen with autism found deceased in Baldwin Lake

4Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Michigan

Missing teen with autism found deceased in Baldwin Lake

CASSOPOLIS, MI – According to Sheriff Clint Roach of the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a report of a missing child who had walked away from his camper at the Willow Shores Campground on U.S. 12 in Porter Township. The family reported their 16-year-old son, who has autism, missing from their trailer around 9:04 a.m. Deputies, along with medical first responders from the Southeast Public Safety Authority, Cass County Sheriff Marine Division, the Porter Township Fire Department, and the Indian Lake Fire Department, began searching on land and in the waters of Baldwin Lake. K-9 Britton, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office Drone Team, and a MedFlight helicopter also assisted in the search. K-9 Britton’s handler indicated that the teen, identified as Kyle, had entere...

Bankruptcy law firm fined $392K and suspended for false disclosures in over 200 cases

30Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Michigan

Bankruptcy law firm fined $392K and suspended for false disclosures in over 200 cases

DETROIT, MI – The U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) has secured a $392,471 judgment and a three-year suspension against Recovery Law Group APC (RLG), a national consumer bankruptcy law firm, for making false and misleading disclosures in more than 200 bankruptcy filings. On Sept. 17, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan granted summary judgment against RLG, finding that the firm knowingly violated provisions of the Bankruptcy Code and Rules regarding attorney compensation disclosures and debt relief agency conduct. The court cited 220 cases since 2020 in which RLG failed to properly disclose its role or fee-sharing arrangements with contracted attorneys. The enforcement action stemmed from a case involving a senior couple who retained RLG for $1,835. The firm ...

Cow in roadway struck by vehicle, injuring Dowagiac man

26Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Michigan

Cow in roadway struck by vehicle, injuring Dowagiac man

CASS COUNTY, MI – A 67-year-old man from Dowagiac was injured early Friday morning after his vehicle struck a cow in the roadway in Mason Township. According to Sheriff Clint Roach, the crash occurred around 3:31 a.m. on Sept. 26 in the 70400 block of Calvin Center Road. Deputies responded to the scene and found that Dale Killarney was traveling southbound when his vehicle collided with a cow. Killarney, the sole occupant of the vehicle, was unable to exit under his own power and was assisted out by deputies. He was transported by ambulance to Elkhart General Hospital in Indiana for treatment of injuries sustained in the crash. SEPSA assisted deputies at the scene. The incident remains under investigation.