Port Huron
Man convicted of murder in mobile home park
PORT HURON, Mich. (AP) - A 52-year-old man has been convicted of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a 43-year-old over what authorities say was an argument about trash at a mobile home park in St. Clair County.
The Times Herald of Port Huron reports that Jess Bowman of Casco Township was convicted Tuesday by a jury in Circuit Court. He faces up to life in prison when sentenced March 16.
Bowman was accused of shooting Timothy Belisle in August at Americana Estates. Sheriff's officials say Belisle was found in the street and died at the scene in Casco Township, about 35 miles northeast of Detroit.
Bowman's lawyer, Daniel Damman, argued that Bowman pulled the trigger to defend himself and his girlfriend.
Angela Dailey, Belisle's sister, says "justice was served."
Buchanan
Contractor gets prison for selling faulty gun parts
BUCHANAN, Mich. (AP) - A Colorado man who had a factory in Michigan has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for trying to sell faulty gun parts to the Defense Department.
The government says Howard "Jack" Cahn's company, Aerospace Manufacturing Services, had contracts to supply parts for automatic weapons used by all branches of the Defense Department. The defective parts were the result of the company being in financial trouble.
There was no evidence that the parts were put into guns. Federal Judge Paul Maloney sentenced Cahn on Tuesday, saying the offenses were "egregious."
Cahn of Boulder, Colorado, was convicted at trial in October. His attorneys had asked for a year of home detention instead of prison.
The factory in Buchanan in southwestern Michigan closed in 2010.
Flint
Anti-theft effort includes reporting for pawn shops
FLINT, Mich. (AP) - Pawn shops and secondhand stores in Flint will be required to report sales and purchases electronically as part of an effort to crack down on theft.
State-appointed emergency manager Jerry Ambrose this month signed an ordinance amending the reporting process, The Flint Journal reported (http://bit.ly/1EXKXwR ). Police chief James W. Tolbert said the old system of filling out paperwork that ended up at police headquarters didn't work.
"We have simply placed the pawn slips in boxes, unopened and stored away," Tolbert wrote in a memo to Ambrose. "I cannot imagine what we have missed in stolen evidence and persons who commit burglary on a regular basis."
Tolbert said that Leads Online, an online investigation system for law enforcement, will provide its software to stores with the cost added to merchants' license fees. Tolbert said he believes that "will have an effect on those who burglarize homes in Flint."
The revised ordinance also requires businesses to send photos of customers who sell items in addition to descriptions of merchandise.
The old process at one time worked well, police said. Merchants filled out slips, detailing the items purchased, the price and identification of the buyer or person pawning the item. Volunteers then would enter the information into a database for use by police.
"The database broke years ago and (was) never repaired," Tolbert wrote. "Volunteers have not been here at least five years and no one has done anything with the pawn slips we have been receiving."
Tolbert, a former deputy chief with the Detroit Police Department, was appointed Flint's police chief in 2013. Some other police chiefs in the Flint area said a regional system is needed for tracking transactions at pawn shops and secondhand stores.
"It's going to help our detectives solve a lot of crimes and recover a lot of property," said Flint Township Police Chief George Sippert, who supports an electronic reporting system.
Mark Aubrey, president of the Michigan Pawnbrokers Association, was unaware of the change in Flint, but said his organization has been working with legislators on a statewide system "that would benefit not only law enforcement, but also the pawnbrokers and consumers."
"A statewide electronic system would benefit all parties," he said. "However, it has to be done the right way. Right now local municipalities are mandating different rules and fees which make it unfair to some."
Mount Morris Township
Lawsuit: Utility worker sought sex for discount
MOUNT MORRIS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - A lawsuit says a Flint-area utility worker offered a woman discounted water and sewer service in exchange for sex.
The Flint Journal reports the lawsuit filed last week in Genesee County Circuit Court seeks more than $25,000 for the woman from the Beecher Metropolitan District. The woman, who isn't identified in the lawsuit, says the man sexually harassed, stalked and intimidated her.
The woman's lawyer Manda Danieleski says the utility worker made the sex-for-service offer in December to help offset high bills associated with a possible water leak.
No charges have been brought in the case. Mount Morris Township police say they haven't received any criminal complaints.
The Beecher Metropolitan District denies any wrongdoing. Administrative Superintendent Kevin Forbes says the lawsuit has "no merit."
Published: Thu, Feb 12, 2015
