Competency exams ordered for suspect
HOWELL (AP) — Judges in two counties have ordered a man charged in a shooting spree that targeted motorists to undergo forensic competency and criminal responsibility examinations.
District court judges in Novi and Howell ordered the exams during hearings last week in cases against Raulie Casteel.
The 43-year-old unemployed geologist is charged with 60 counts, including multiple counts of assault with intent to murder, in connection with shootings in Wixom and Oakland County’s Commerce Township.
He’s also charged with six counts in a single case in Livingston County.
Casteel is suspected in two dozen random shootings along a 100-mile freeway corridor. Shootings also took place in Ingham and Shiawassee counties.
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Man sentenced in charity scam
PONTIAC (AP) — A man who authorities say collected money for fake veterans’ charities he created has been sentenced to 17 months to 10 years in prison.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette says 37-year-old Neil Thrasher of West Bloomfield Township also is ordered to pay $74,400 in restitution to Paralyzed Veterans of America and Disabled American Veterans.
Thrasher was sentenced after pleading no contest in Oakland County Circuit Court to two counts of embezzlement from a charitable organization and one count of violation of the Charitable Solicitation Act.
Schuette says Thrasher — claiming to help disabled veterans — collected more than $180,000 from 2009 to April 2012 through telemarketing. Much of the money was used at athletic clubs, liquor stores and restaurants.
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Attorney charged over alleged threat
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Billings attorney accused of telling another lawyer he was going to “wipe her out” has been charged with professional misconduct.
The state Office of Disciplinary Counsel recently made the charge against Jeffrey Michael.
The Montana Supreme Court will ultimately decide what disciplinary action to take, if any.
The complaint says Michael made the threat in a voicemail to Liz Honaker after the two had an encounter in Billings Municipal Court in October 2011.
Honaker had filed a complaint against Michael on behalf of a former client who said Michael had provided ineffective assistance in the client’s conviction on an arson charge.
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Attending church part of teen’s probation
MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) — A judge says a teenager who pleaded guilty in the traffic death of another teen must attend church for the next 10 years to keep out of prison.
The 17-year-old was sentenced after pleading guilty as a youthful offender to manslaughter in the death of his passenger, 16-year-old John Luke Dum. Authorities say the teen had been drinking when he crashed his pickup into a tree, killing Dum.
The Tulsa World reports that Judge Mike Norman handed down a 10-year deferred sentence, meaning the teen can avoid prison if he meets all conditions.
Those conditions include attending church and graduating from high school and welding school.
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