Detroit: Hung jury for homeowner who killed burglar
DETROIT (AP) — A judge has declared a mistrial for a Detroit homeowner on trial for manslaughter in the shooting death of a man he caught breaking into his house.
Tigh Croff went on trial for second-degree murder, but Wayne County Circuit Judge Michael Hathaway last week reduced the charge to manslaughter.
Hathaway ruled Tuesday that jurors were hopelessly deadlocked. A hearing on setting a new trial date is set for Aug. 30.
Police say the 31-year-old Croff returned home Dec. 28 to find 53-year-old Herbert Silas and another man in his back yard.
Authorities say Croff chased Silas to the next street, where they say the drunken burglar taunted Croff before Croff shot him.
California: Ted Nugent pleads no contest to deer baiting in CA
MARYSVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Rocker and celebrity hunter Ted Nugent will have to pay a $1,750 fine after pleading no contest in California to baiting a deer and not having a properly signed hunting tag.
California Department of Fish and Game spokesman Patrick Foy says game wardens saw Nugent kill an immature buck on a February episode of his Outdoor Channel TV show “Spirit of the Wild.”
Investigators found that the deer had been eating bait called “C’mere Deer.” Baiting wildlife is illegal in California.
Nugent originally faced 11 charges, including killing a deer too young to be hunted. In a deal with Yuba County prosecutors, Nugent’s attorney on Friday entered no contest pleas to the two misdemeanors.
Nugent did not appear in court. A spokeswoman for the musician did not immediately return messages.
Delaware: Mich. man indicted in fraud case
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The Attorney General’s Office say a Michigan man has been indicted in a securities fraud case that allegedly swindled a Delaware resident of more than $300,000.
Forty-three-year-old Patrick Wiley of Detroit was indicted today.
Attorney General Beau Biden says another man, 45-year-old Darren Dobson of Charlotte, N.C., persuaded the victim to invest $45,000 in a venture that supposed involved wealthy people in London.
After the victim did not get a return on the investment, officials say Wiley promised to take steps to get the funds, and got money from the victim to cover the cost of supposed trips abroad.
Dobson was indicted in February on securities fraud charges.
Big Rapids: $250K set bond for woman in pie attack on senator
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — An anti-war protester accused of hitting Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin in the face with an apple pie during a constituent meeting in northern Michigan is jailed on a $250,000 bond.
Twenty-two-year-old Ahlam M. Mohsen of Coldwater was arraigned Tuesday on a felony count of stalking and other charges.
A Mecosta County district judge set her bond at $250,000, requiring a cash payment of $25,000 for her to get out of jail.
Mohsen has said she opposes U.S. military policy and its support for Israel. She was arrested last year for sitting in at Levin’s Lansing office.
The attack happened Monday at the Michigan Democrat’s appearance at a restaurant in Big Rapids, 150 miles northwest of Detroit.
Lansing: GOP candidates raise cash for sec’y of state race
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — State Sen. Michelle McManus is the only one of five Republicans running for secretary of state who hasn’t given money to her campaign.
Campaign finance reports filed Tuesday show McManus raised $197,000 and has $58,000 on hand heading into the Aug. 28 nominating convention.
Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson raised $174,000, including $151,000 she gave. She has $148,000 on hand.
State Sen. Cameron Brown raised $228,000, including $160,000 he gave. He has $120,000 on hand.
Calhoun County Clerk Anne Norlander raised $224,000, including $174,000 she gave. She has $110,000 on hand.
Rep. Paul Scott raised $103,000, including $36,000 he gave. He has $43,000 on hand.
Democratic candidate Jocelyn Benson filed her finance report Wednesday.
Lansing: Fight continues over Tea Party on Michigan ballot
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Efforts continue to block a group calling itself The Tea Party from running a slate of candidates on Michigan’s November ballot.
Opponents say the group is a fraud trying to steal the Tea Party name in an attempt to draw votes away from candidates that tea party activists really support.
A lawyer for tea party activists and some Republican candidates filed challenges Tuesday with state election officials. Opponents question the petitions used by The Tea Party and its process of nominating candidates.
The Board of State Canvassers is expected to decide Aug. 23 whether The Tea Party can make the ballot.
A message was left seeking comment with Mark Steffek of Reese, who’s listed as The Tea Party chairman.
