State Roundup

Lansing
Ingham County considering dairy goat ordinance

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Ingham County officials are considering whether to allow people who live in urban areas to keep dairy goats.
The Lansing State Journal reports a draft ordinance would allow up to three miniature dairy goats on one- or two-family residential properties, provided there is adequate land and shelter space for each goat.
The issue was a topic of discussion at a meeting of the county Animal Control Shelter Advisory Committee on Monday night.
The ordinance has at least some support on the panel that advises the Board of Commissioners on animal control issues. But animal control officials are concerned about the extra workload urban goats might bring to their already stressed department.
County Commissioner Todd Tennis says he hopes to bring a firm ordinance proposal to the board in March.

Pontiac
Prosecutors drop cases due to deputy’s conduct

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — Oakland County prosecutors have dropped 16 drug cases after an investigation found that a deputy on the county’s narcotics enforcement team falsified a search warrant and lied under oath.
Prosecutor Jessica Cooper says Marc Ferguson opened a shipping container without a search warrant in June 2011 and later denied on the witness stand that he had done so.
Drug trafficking charges were dropped in the case. Prosecutors then went through 100 pending drug cases involving Ferguson and dismissed 15 cases in which he was central to the investigation.
The Detroit Free Press reports Tuesday that Ferguson was fired in December and has filed a grievance to get his job back. No criminal charges have been brought against him.

Sterling Heights
Police in Detroit suburb patrolling schools randomly

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) — Police in a Detroit suburb say they are starting to randomly visit some elementary and junior high schools to enhance security in the wake of mass school shootings elsewhere.
The Detroit News and WDIV-TV report that officers in Sterling Heights are launching twice-a-day visits Tuesday to three junior high schools and 11 elementary schools. The patrols include visiting with administrators and obtaining information on activities in the Utica schools.
The actions come after a deadly rampage last month at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. They grew out of meetings between Utica Community Schools Superintendent Christine Johns and Sterling Heights Police Chief Michael Reese.
Police say they are talking with officials in the Warren Consolidated Schools about similar measures.

Miami
Jury selection scheduled in child sex tourism case

MIAMI (AP) — Jury selection began in Miami federal court for the trial of a Michigan man accused of abusing children in his care in Haiti.
Matthew Andrew Carter of Brighton, Mich., has been in custody since his May 2011 arrest. He faces several charges, including one count of traveling from the U.S. to Haiti for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct with minors.
Carter ran a residential center for poor children in Haiti’s capital. Prosecutors say Carter forced several children at the home to engage in sexual acts in exchange for gifts, money or continued care from the mid-1990s through April 2011.
The Haitian government took the rare step of closing the home after Carter’s arrest.
Jury selection began Tuesday. The trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 5.
The Associated Press wasn’t able to reach Ferguson for comment.

Howell
Man guilty of kiling brother and sister-in-law

HOWELL, Mich. (AP) — A 66-year-old man has been found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in the 2008 slayings of his brother and sister-in-law in their Livingston County home.
The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus of Howell and WHMI-FM report that a circuit court jury returned its verdict Monday against Jerome Kowalski after watching 90 minutes of a recorded interview he gave to police.
Authorities say the bodies of 65-year-old Richard and 58-year-old Brenda Kowalski were found shot to death on May 1, 2008, at their home in Oceola Township, about 45 miles northwest of Detroit.
Defense lawyer Walter Piszczatowski (pihz-ah-TOW’-skee) previously said Jerome Kowalski’s confession was only given after a lengthy interrogation.
Jerome Kowalski faces life in prison with no parole when he is sentenced on March 12.