State Roundup

Holland Twp.: Police investigate suspicious fires in Ottawa Co.
HOLLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Police are investigating a string of suspicious fires that have caused about $100,000 in property damage at a CSX train yard in Holland Township.

At least three fires have taken place at the west Michigan location near Grand Rapids since the beginning of the year.

Ottawa County Sheriff’s Lt. Mark Bennet tells The Grand Rapids Press that a storage building caught fire Jan. 2, and an office trailer was set ablaze Jan. 29 and Feb. 6.

Bennet said detectives and railroad police are investigating.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department.

Sterling Heights: Man charged with fatally stabbing his 4-year-old dog
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) — A 54-year-old Sterling Heights man accused of fatally stabbing his dog faces a felony count of killing an animal.

Police say Roman Laba’s wife told them her husband stabbed Lucky, a 4-year-old bulldog-Dalmatian mix, inside their suburban Detroit home about 10 a.m. Jan. 31. She said Laba awakened her about 5 a.m. and said he defended himself with a kitchen knife after the dog attacked him.

Police say Laba had bite marks on his body.

The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens and The Detroit News say Laba faces up to four years in prison and a $5,000 fine, if convicted. He remains held in Macomb County Jail on a $50,000 bond pending a preliminary exam on Wednesday.

Police said it was not immediately known if Laba had a lawyer.

Detroit: Ex-inspector faces more than 4 years in jail in lead case
DETROIT (AP) — Federal prosecutors are recommending more than four years in prison for a former Detroit inspector accused of taking cash and ignoring homes with high lead levels.

Donald Patterson pleaded guilty to fraud and returns to federal court on Tuesday. Instead of inspecting a Detroit home with high levels of lead, he accepted $200 and simply recommended ways to get rid of the problem. The government says the problem only got worse. A 2-year-old boy was hospitalized twice.

Authorities say Patterson followed a similar pattern at nine other homes, endangering residents. He faces 41 months to 51 months in prison.

Detroit: Detroit gives police incentives to live in town
DETROIT (AP) — Mayor Dave Bing is offering renovated homes in Detroit for as little as $1,000 to city police officers who live in the suburbs under a plan aimed at improving neighborhoods and safety.

The city will tap federal stimulus funds to repair up to 200 abandoned houses in the Boston-Edison and Indian Village neighborhoods, Bing said during a news conference Monday.

At least 53 percent of the city’s 3,000 officers live outside the city, Bing said. Residency requirements for city employees were wiped away by state lawmakers in 1999.

Bing said the police presence will hinder crime and create better relationships with residents. Detroit’s population has dropped by half after peaking at near 2 million in the early 1950s.

“Detroiters want to live in safe, stable neighborhoods and they deserve no less,” Bing said. “This is just step one of many things that we think we’re going to have to involve ourselves in as we bring our city back. We hope it’s a model for the nation.”

Police Chief Ralph Godbee said he’s confident the effort will succeed.

“Our residents have told us loud and clear about the challenges that their neighborhoods face as more homes have become vacant and abandoned, threatening the stability and safety of our community,” Godbee said. “What we’re looking for is moving back to some normalcy in police-community relations.”

The effort is part of the mayor’s Public Works Project, which aims to reshape the city by encouraging residents to live in better neighborhoods, the Detroit Free Press said. The Detroit News said Detroit is using $30 million in federal Neighborhood Stabilization Funds to pay for the program.

Officer LaDawn Russell, 30, said she moved out of Detroit to Oak Park in 2007 but is considering a move back to East English Village, where she grew up. She said she left in part, because of concerns about safety.

“Around New Year’s Eve, I don’t hear gunshots,” she said.

Grand Rapids: Gambling at root of $600,000 bank embezzlement
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A Grand Rapids-area woman says gambling led her to embezzle about $600,000 from Huntington Bank.

Jo Anne Wierenga pleaded guilty Monday in federal court. She told a judge that gambling caused her to steal money for seven years at a Huntington branch in Grand Rapids.

Authorities say Wierenga took money from customer accounts and the vault. She remains free on bond but must stay away from casinos and attend Gamblers Anonymous meetings. Wierenga will receive her sentence on May 9.