Detroit
City plans legal notices in fight against blight
DETROIT (AP) — The city of Detroit plans to post legal notices and take court action if needed against owners of blighted properties in one neighborhood.
The Marygrove neighborhood effort being announced Wednesday afternoon by Mayor Mike Duggan is part of neighborhood revitalization efforts in the bankrupt city. Detroit says notices will be posted on every vacant home in the neighborhood before owners are sued.
City Council President Brenda Jones and members of the Detroit Land Bank are expected to be on hand for the kickoff event.
Duggan’s office said in a statement that the new effort is the first phase of a “multi-faceted approach to eradicating blight in the city neighborhood by neighborhood.” The city has been working for years to demolish vacant and dangerous buildings.
Detroit
Judge settles lawsuit in Hard Lemonade case
DETROIT (AP) — A Wayne County judge has settled a lawsuit filed by a couple whose son was temporarily removed from their custody after he was mistakenly given alcohol at a Detroit Tigers game.
The case was closed Tuesday in a federal court filing. Attorneys for the parents and Judge Judy Hartsfield say settlement details are confidential.
Leo Ratte was 7 years old in 2008 when his father mistakenly gave him Mike’s Hard Lemonade at Comerica Park. University of Michigan professor Christopher Ratte says he didn’t know the beverage had alcohol.
Police took steps to put Leo into protective custody for several days. Leo’s parents sued the judge, claiming their rights were violated by Hartsfield’s practice of signing blank forms and leaving them to be filled in by authorities to remove children.
Detroit
2 Wayne State students arrested in iPad theft
DETROIT (AP) — Two Wayne State University students arrested Tuesday after an iPad was stolen from a Friend of the Court office in downtown Detroit.
The Wayne County sheriff’s office says one of the 18-year-olds led deputies on a chase Tuesday morning through the Penobscot Building. The other was arrested outside the building.
A Friend of the Court worker contacted authorities after catching the students going through her purse about 7:15 a.m. in an employee-only area on the building’s first floor.
The iPad and more than eight grams of marijuana were found in a school bag belonging to one of the students.
Detroit
Police: Break-in suspects shot by homeowner
DETROIT (AP) — Police say a Detroit man shot two people who were trying to break into his home, killing one and wounding the other.
The Detroit News reports the shooting took place Wednesday morning on the city’s west side after a man and woman broke a window at the home and tried to get inside.
The newspaper says the man’s body was found on the lawn of a nearby home and the woman was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
The homeowner wasn’t injured.
Taylor
Authorities say missing 8-year-old girl found safe
TAYLOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan authorities say an 8-year-old girl has been found safe after she was reported missing from the parking lot of a suburban Detroit motel.
An Amber Alert was issued for the child on Wednesday morning.
She was last reported seen outside the Comfort Inn in Taylor. Police say they were told the girl’s parents left her sleeping in a vehicle outside the motel about 3:30 a.m. while they went inside to check in, and when they went back outside she was missing.
Monroe Twp.
Man, 23, found dead in fiery car
MONROE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Southeastern Michigan authorities say a 23-year-old Detroit-area man was found dead inside his burning car.
The Monroe County sheriff’s department got a call about 12:45 a.m. Tuesday of a vehicle burning in Monroe Township.
The department says two people saw a man sitting unresponsive in the driver’s seat of a burning car parked along a road. The sheriff’s department identifies him as Tyler Cook.
