Lapeer
Vet: Owners were told about dogs before mauling
LAPEER, Mich. (AP) - A Michigan couple was warned their two dogs had behavioral problems several months before the animals fatally mauled a jogger, a veterinarian testified Friday at their preliminary examination.
Sherrey Wallace told Lapeer District Court Judge Laura Barnard that she marked "DWB!!" for "dogs will bite" on their files after the cane corsos tried to bite her during routine examinations in April.
Sebastiano Quagliata, 45, and his wife, Valbona Lucaj, 44, were charged with second-degree murder after the dogs attacked Craig Sytsma as he jogged July 23 near their home in Lapeer County's Metamora Township.
Sytsma later died at a hospital.
"I told them I felt the dogs were very aggressive and may be very dangerous," Wallace testified.
The 108-pound Tony and 91-pound Princess "were trying to bite through their muzzles," Wallace said.
The two dogs and a third dog from the couple's property, about 45 miles northwest of Detroit, were euthanized after Sytsma was killed. Sytsma, 46, lived in the Detroit suburb of Livonia, but worked near Metamora Township.
Quagliata and Lucaj each are being held on $500,000 bonds. Quagliata's attorney, Jason Malkiewicz, unsuccessfully argued Friday for a lower bond.
The hearing, which will determine if the couple will stand trial, will resume Aug. 29. They face up to life in prison if convicted on the murder charges.
At least two other people bitten by dogs from their property could be called to testify.
Detroit
Michigan police get $43 million in military gear
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan police agencies have received $43 million worth of surplus military equipment, including 17 mine-resistant armored fighting vehicles and 1,795 M16 automatic rifles, since 2006, a review of public records shows.
The Detroit Free Press said it reviewed items that the Pentagon transferred to Michigan law enforcement. It said the list of 128,000 items also includes 165 utility trucks, three observation helicopters, 696 M14 rifles, 630 bayonets and scabbards and nine grenade launchers.
Transfers of military equipment has come under scrutiny since the high visibility of such items in Ferguson, Missouri, as authorities responded to protests against the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9.
Federal officials won't identify specific agencies getting the equipment, but the newspaper said the 4,000-resident village of Dundee in Monroe County got a mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle, or MRAP.
The Macomb County sheriff's department got 79 M-16 rifles, the Free Press said. All were converted from automatic to semi-automatic under the department's policy, said Sgt. Phil Abdoo.
In 1990, Congress authorized the Defense Department to give surplus equipment to police to help fight drugs, which then gave way to the fight against terrorism. The military transfers have increased in recent years.
Ex-Livonia police Chief Robert Stevenson, executive director of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police, said many agencies have turned to federal surplus programs because of budget cuts.
"You need that equipment ready and hope that you never use it. The fact that you never use it doesn't mean you shouldn't have it," Stevenson said. "Your police department needs to be as well-armed as the people they encounter."
The American Civil Liberties Union reviewed cases where police used military equipment and concluded that the practice "causes serious problems for undermining public confidence," said group senior counsel Kara Dansky and author of the report.
