State Roundup

Traverse City New Year's event creator pleads in embezzlement TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- A man who helped create a Times Square-inspired New Year's Eve celebration in downtown Traverse City has pleaded guilty to an embezzlement charge. The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports (http://bit.ly/oY1VoB) 42-year-old Brian Sweebe of Grawn entered the plea to the misdemeanor Tuesday in 86th District Court. He faces up to one year behind bars when sentenced. Sweebe co-founded the Cherry-T Ball Drop, and he was fired by the organization. He was charged in March with a felony embezzlement count after authorities said he told police he made unauthorized withdrawals from the Cherry-T Ball Drop's bank account. Cherry-T Ball Drop co-founder Cristal Wilcox testified in August that Sweebe later paid the group $4,100. Ionia Woman dies after motorcycle hits deer in Ionia Co. IONIA, Mich. (AP) -- Authorities say a woman riding on a motorcycle driven by her husband has died after a collision with a deer in Ionia County threw her into the path of a van. The Sentinel-Standard of Ionia and The Grand Rapids Press report the motorcycle hit the deer Tuesday night, and the van was driving behind them. Police say the 42-year-old motorcycle driver also was thrown to the roadway, and he was transported by air to a hospital. Authorities say the 43-year-old woman died at the scene. She had been hit and dragged by the van, which was driven by a 78-year-old man. Names of those involved weren't immediately released. The crash was under investigation by Michigan State Police. Marquette Marquette officials investigate suspicious fires MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) -- Authorities in Marquette are investigating a series of small suspicious brush fires in the Upper Peninsula city in recent days. The Mining Journal of Marquette reports the first fire was early Sunday near a bike path and burned an area about 30 feet by 20 feet. Early Tuesday, two additional fires were reported in the same general area. One burned an area about 30 feet by 30 feet and the other burned an area about 30 feet by 60 feet. No structures were damaged. Police and fire officials are seeking tips from the public about the fires. Marquette We Energies could shut down or update power plant MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) -- A Wisconsin-based utility says the coal-fired Presque Isle Power Plant in Michigan's Upper Peninsula could be shut down in 2017 or refitted to be fueled by natural gas. The Mining Journal of Marquette reports the plant in Marquette could be retired as the company looks to comply with proposed federal pollution regulations. We Energies spokesman Brian Manthey said Tuesday that no final decision has been made, but the Milwaukee-based utility needs to look at alternatives, which take years to develop. New transmission lines could be developed to bring more electricity into the area currently served by the Presque Isle plant. Manthey said the plant also could be refitted to be powered by an alternative fuel source such as natural gas, or new controls could be put into place. Lansing Snyder OKs ban on late-term abortion procedure LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday signed into law a state ban on a late-term abortion procedure already prohibited under federal law, a move abortion opponents said was needed to make it easier to prosecute cases in the state. The approval from the Republican governor, which was expected, could end more than a decade of efforts by anti-abortion activists to get the ban added to state law. Previous attempts were rejected by courts or vetoed by then-Democrat Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Supporters of the Michigan bill say it should survive a legal challenge this time because it mirrors the federal ban. They argue it was important to include a ban in Michigan in case the federal law changes. Opponents say the federal ban makes the state proposal redundant and unnecessary. Some opponents of the Michigan measure have said it may be vulnerable to legal challenge. The outlawed procedure typically is used to end pregnancies in the second and third trimesters and involves partially removing the fetus intact from a woman's uterus and then crushing or cutting its skull to complete the abortion. Granholm vetoed a similar bill in 2008. She also vetoed a bill in 2004, but hundreds of thousands of voters signed petitions that allowed the bill to become law with only the approval of the Legislature. Federal courts later declared that ban unconstitutional, however, because it also could have prohibited other abortion procedures. A Michigan law from the 1990s also was eventually overturned by federal courts. Mount Clemens Comic shop owner convicted of murdering wife MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) -- A southeastern Michigan jury on Tuesday found a former comic book shop owner guilty of murdering his wife in the back of their store. It was the second trial for Michael George, whose 2008 conviction was overturned because of errors by prosecutors. A Macomb County Circuit Court jury found the 51-year-old guilty of first-degree murder, insurance fraud and possessing a firearm in a felony. Prosecutors said George was cheating on his wife, Barbara, and having an affair with an employee. They said he wanted to be rid of his wife and collect on about $130,000 in life insurance when he fatally shot her in 1990 in their Clinton Township shop, Comics World. They said her husband tried to make the death look like it happened in a robbery. Comic books valued at $30,000 were taken. "Now that this is over, our family can go on with our lives, and Barb can rest in peace," Joe Kowynia, Barbara George's youngest brother, said after the verdict, according to The Detroit News. "He can rot in jail." Defense lawyer Carl Marlinga called the verdict "an awful tragedy." "I was convinced he was innocent. I think the alibi witnesses were solid," Marlinga said. "I will never understand why the jury chose to ignore that." George moved to Pennsylvania in 1992 with his current wife and seven children and opened a Comics World store in Windber, about 70 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. In an opening statement, Marlinga told jurors that a man wearing a Greek fisherman's cap and a man with a fake beard and mustache were outside the shop about the time Barbara George was killed. Marlinga also said that Michael George was at his mother's home at the time. First-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole. Published: Thu, Oct 13, 2011