Federal judge in U.P. retires after three decades on bench
MARQUETTE (AP) — The first full-time federal judge in the Upper Peninsula is retiring after more than 30 years.
Timothy Greeley is a magistrate judge who handles the early phases of criminal cases. He also has a role in handling civil litigation filed in Marquette federal court.
Greeley tells The Mining Journal that his career as a judge has been “everything I had hoped for and more.” Maarten Vermaat, who’s now an assistant U.S. attorney, will be the new magistrate judge.
Greeley expects to return for some cases. Vermaat must recuse himself from some criminal cases because of his time as a prosecutor.
A party with a portrait unveiling was planned for March. But it will be changed to spring or summer because of uncertainty over the government shutdown.
Woman seeks new trial in 2015 slaying
KALAMAZOO (AP) — A woman who pleaded guilty but mentally ill in the 2015 southwestern Michigan killing of a woman who was dating her ex-boyfriend wants a new trial.
Theresa Petto entered the plea after several days of her murder trial in the shooting death of 25-year-old Rachel Drafta in the Kalamazoo-area community of Portage.
Petto, now 47, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but she later sought to withdraw her plea.
The Kalamazoo Gazette reports that an appellate lawyer for Petto argued that her trial lawyer used false information to persuade her to enter the plea by saying she would only get treatment for mental health services if she did so.
Petto says she otherwise would have let her trial continue.
FBI: Man harassed Parkland families via Instagram
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A California man is accused of using Instagram to “harass and intimidate” the families of students killed in a mass shooting at a Florida high school.
A criminal complaint filed in federal court says Brandon Fleury of Santa Ana, California, began the taunts Dec. 22 using different accounts which were traced to an IP address in Santa Ana, where Fleury lives with his father and brother.
He was arrested late last week.
Special Agent Cameron McDowell wrote in a 12-page report that Fleury showed no remorse when questioned Jan. 16. He admitted to fascination with the Feb. 14 shooting that killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Fleury’s father, Patrick Fleury, told the SunSentinel it was a “bunch of nonsense.”
Parrot rescued after nearly three nights in storm drain
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An African Grey parrot is home after being trapped for nearly three nights in a storm drain in Los Angeles.
Arturo Vasquez tells KABC-TV he turned to YouTube parrot advocate Marlene Mc’Cohen when no one would help him try to free his 10-year-old parrot Milly.
Mc'Cohen says she rounded up a group of volunteers, who improvised using cameras, piping and remote control vehicles.
At one point, the parrot got spooked. But they eventually coaxed Milly out of the drain.
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