Northern Michigan man charged in father's bludgeoning death
PETOSKEY, Mich. (AP) — A northern Michigan man charged in his father's bludgeoning death allegedly told officers he fatally beat him with a baseball bat after his father confiscated his last bottle of alcohol.
Joel Andrew Wheatley. 51, was arraigned Thursday in Emmet County's 90th District Court on charges that include open murder, identity theft and unlawful driving away of a motor vehicle.
The Petoskey man was denied bond, and a preliminary examination in the case was set for June 3, the Petoskey News-Review reported. It wasn't clear if Wheatley had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
He's accused of fatally beating his father, Jack Wheatley of Royal Oak, on May 11 or May 12 in a Petoskey home where Joel Wheatley lived but which his father owned.
Officers found Jack Wheatley dead in the home's kitchen, with apparent blunt-force trauma wounds to his head and face, after an out-of-state relative called 911 requesting a well-being check on father and son, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Police said they found a wooden baseball bat and a knife near the body, while Joe Wheatley was found seated in a chair, heavily intoxicated with a rifle on the floor next to him.
Wheatley told officers he killed his father by repeatedly striking him from behind with a wooden baseball bat because the elder man had taken away his last bottle of alcohol, the affidavit states.
After that killing, he had stolen his father's wallet and used his father's credit card to buy two bottles of whiskey, the document says Wheatley told officers.
36th District Court extends moratorium on evictions to June 11
The 36th District Court previously issued a moratorium on evictions on March 13, 2020. The court has now extended the moratorium to coincide with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-85 (COVID-19)
The temporary suspension regarding evictions will continue through June 11, 2020. During this time, as stated in the order, “this extension includes a new provision prohibiting any demand for the payment of rent that includes a demand for possession, or other threat of eviction, based on the nonpayment of rent.”
Visit www.36thdistrictcourt.org for further information and updates concerning operational changes due to COVID-19.
Five elected to board of bar association
Four incumbents and one newcomer have been elected to three-year terms on the board of directors for the Oakland County Bar Association.
Incumbents Kari Melkonian, Sarah Kuchon, Syeda Davidson, and Emily Long were the top four vote-getters in the OCBA election, while Moheeb Murray also was elected to a three-year term that ends June 30, 2023.
“Of the 2,377 eligible voters in this election, 593 members voted for a total of 24.95 percent voter turnout,” said a spokesperson for the OCBA.
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