State Roundup

Ann Arbor
U. of Mich. makes changes after porn case delay
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — The University of Michigan is combining its public safety and security departments following a six-month delay in reporting to police the discovery of suspected child pornography on a computer flash drive in a University of Michigan hospital lounge.
The decision to create a unified public safety and security division was approved Friday by the school’s Board of Regents.
The unit will be led by an executive director who will report to the Ann Arbor school’s president. The board says the delay was unacceptable.
An earlier internal investigation into the delay determined a hospital attorney aware of the discovery in May 2011 decided after a month that there wasn’t enough evidence to tell police.
Police were notified in November 2011. Charges were brought against a male resident physician in December 2011.

Battle Creek
Man sentenced in slaying of mother-in-law
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) — A man convicted of first-degree murder for killing his mother-in-law with an aluminum baseball bat at a Battle Creek home last year has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The mandatory sentence for Howard McDonald was given in Calhoun County Circuit Court. A jury last month convicted him in the November slaying of 69-year-old Joan Roush.
The Battle Creek Enquirer reports McDonald told the court Friday that he was “sorry we have to be here for this.”
The 50-year-old defendant also was found guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon and first-degree home invasion.

Warren
Documents: Grand jury widens probe
WARREN, Mich. (AP) — Documents indicate that a federal grand jury has widened an investigation related to city operations in the Detroit suburb of Warren.
The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens reports documents it obtained under the Freedom of Information Act outlined details of a Sept. 25 subpoena, including employment information, records related to contracts and other materials. The subpoena doesn’t explain why investigators are seeking the records.
Last month, the city’s mayor said a federal grand jury wanted records about Warren’s trash trucks. An earlier subpoena from the grand jury seeks documents about the purchase of trash trucks and records that explain the relationship between Warren and a company that runs Detroit’s trash incinerator.