Flint: Woman, 94, sleeps through burglary, shootout
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A 94-year-old woman says she slept through a burglary and police shooting outside her Flint home after someone noticed teenagers breaking into a window.
Lizzie Winfrey told WEYI-TV that she had no idea what was going on until officers woke her up Monday morning.
She missed the shooting of one teen in the leg after he fired shots at officers while running away. Two others were arrested.
But that wasn’t the end.
Winfrey says she and her children heard an officer yell “hold it right there” from her basement. Police had arrested a fourth suspect.
Winfrey says she thanks God that “everything turned out as well as it did.”
Westland: Woman accused of stealing $350K from her mother
WESTLAND, Mich. (AP) — Wayne County authorities say a Westland woman stole $350,000 from her mother’s retirement funds over five years.
Police tell the Detroit Free Press that Carol Brazeika took the money from her 76-year-old mother’s retirement, pension and Social Security funds, starting in 2004.
The 49-year-old Brazeika was arraigned Monday before Westland District Judge Mark McConnell on 14 felony charges. The judge set her bond at $350,000.
A preliminary examination is scheduled Dec. 2.
Authorities say Brazeika used her mother’s identity to open credit card accounts and get loans in her mother’s name.
Westland police Sgt. David Zucchetto says Brazeika’s husband is a witness in the case.
Brazeika was in the Wayne County jail Monday night, and it wasn’t known if she has a lawyer.
Mount Clemens: Ex-broker gets 4 to10 years for $2M fraud
MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) — Attorney General Mike Cox says an ex-securities broker who ran a $2 million fake investment scheme has received a four- to 10-year prison sentence after pleading no contest to three charges.
Cox says Macomb County Circuit Judge Diane Druzinski sentenced 42-year-old Scott Pionk of Clinton Township on Monday. Cox says the court will decide restitution within 60 days.
In exchange for the plea, authorities dropped other charges. A no-contest plea isn’t an admission of guilt.
Defense lawyer Leon Weiss tells the Detroit Free Press his client is basically a decent person and a good family man.
Cox says Pionk used his job with Michigan Securities Inc. to sell phony investments. Cox says Pionk used the money to write himself checks and make ATM withdrawals at Detroit casinos.
Mackinac Island: Shepler’s halts Mackinac Island service in dispute
MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (AP) — Shepler’s Mackinac Island Ferry owners say they’ve halted extended season service in a dispute with officials of the Great Lakes resort community.
Shepler’s says service halted at 5 p.m. Monday and says it will reimburse customers who want refunds for season passes.
Shepler’s, Arnold Transit Co. and Star Line received two-year franchises from Mackinac Island on Monday.
In a news release, Shepler’s says the city didn’t set terms for the services but says the franchises give Mackinac Island officials too much say over prices, schedules and the length of the season.
The home phone of Mayor Margaret Doud rang busy Monday night. In the past, she has said officials are trying to provide more efficient service and keep fares affordable.
Detroit: Felony convictions lead to dismissals of 3 coaches
DETROIT (AP) — Three Detroit high school football coaches have been relieved of their duties after district officials learned they failed to reveal felony convictions on job applications to work as noon hour aides.
The district said Monday in a release that personnel staff discovered the convictions.
The names of the coaches and details of their felony convictions weren’t released.
They’d been coaching at Douglass High School.
Emergency financial manager Robert Bobb says the district “will always aggressively and forthrightly respond” to such issues.
Detroit: Detroit-area man pleads guilty in child porn case
DETROIT (AP) — A Detroit-area man faces decades in prison after pleading guilty to producing child pornography.
Federal authorities say they discovered more than 600 images while searching John Belloli Jr.’s home in Dearborn Heights last summer. In his plea agreement, he admits sexually assaulting a girl while the victim’s father watched and took pictures.
The 50-year-old Belloli pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Detroit. The government is recommending a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison but the judge could go higher when Belloli returns to court March 25.
Charges are pending against co-defendant Robert Mueller of Sterling Heights.
Rockville: DNA matches suspect to 1984 rape of woman
ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — Montgomery County Police have arrested a man in a 1984 rape after a DNA profile matched a man to the crime.
Police charged 53-year-old Hubert Allan Marlin, whose last known address was in Michigan, with rape and assault with intent to maim. He was arrested on Sunday and is being held without bond.
Police say on Oct. 13, 1984, a woman was walking home from her job at Montgomery Mall when she was approached by a man who beat and raped her.
In April of this year, the case was reopened and evidence from the crime scene underwent a forensic examination. A DNA profile was obtained and the suspect was identified.
Detroit: Feds hesitate to show evidence in attempted attack
DETROIT (AP) — The federal government says it wants a Nigerian man’s consent before it shares evidence with people who might help him defend against charges of an attempted airline attack near Detroit.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (OO’-mahr fah-ROOK’ ahb-DOOL’-moo-TAH’-lahb) is representing himself. But standby counsel Anthony Chambers wants his staff and experts to look at the evidence.
In a court filing Monday, prosecutors say they won’t agree without Abdulmutallab’s approval.
The 24-year-old man is charged with attempting to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 last Christmas Day as it was headed to Detroit from Amsterdam. U.S investigators believe he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen.
At a court hearing in October, Abdulmutallab didn’t even see a need for Chambers to screen the evidence, but a judge overruled him.
