On Friday, July 29, 34th District Court Judge Lisa Martin arraigned Kenneth Ray Barrett, 61, a white male of Willis, on charges relating to the hit and run death of a 26-year-old black woman whose body was found on the I-94 North Service Drive in Van Buren Township early Wednesday morning, July 27.
VBT Police Chief Jason Wright said police received a report of a body on the roadway at 12:38 a.m. Wednesday, July 27, about halfway between Rawsonville and Beck roads on the I-94 North Service Drive. It appeared the female had been struck by a vehicle while walking, he said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Chief Wright identified the woman as Natia Hardy, but he was not sure of where she was living, possibly Ypsilanti or Sumpter Township. He said they were able to contact her family.
He said police were able to identify the suspected vehicle involved and at 8:47 a.m. that same morning made a traffic stop and took the suspect into custody.
Barrett was charged with two felonies: driving while license suspended / revoked / denied resulting in death and failure to stop at an accident when at fault resulting in death.
He was in custody at Van Buren Township police lockup and arraigned by video. His bond was set at $50,000/10% as recommended by police and Judge Martin ordered him not to be released without an alcohol tether, also as recommended by police.
It was speculated at the arraignment that it might take Wayne County Sheriff’s Department until Monday to be able to install the alcohol tether on Barrett.
His probable cause conference was set for 8:30 a.m., Aug. 10, by zoom before Judge Tina Brooks Green.
If found guilty he faces up to 15 years in prison for each charge and/or up to $10,000 fine on each charge.
When the Independent asked if its roadside license plate reader played a part in the apprehension, VBT Deputy Chief Josh Monte replied: “The license plate readers did play a role in pointing us in the right direction, but this case was also the culmination of good detective work by our Detective Bureau, a good crime scene investigation and an experienced patrol officer being at the right place at the right time.”
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6 Comments
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Why are you making this about race?
“A white male” hit a “black woman”. That’s straight up what this article is doing. I hope you get fired.
Good point. No mention of race in this recent murder article.
http://bellevilleareaindependent.com/canton-twp-suspect-charged-in-shooting-death-of-belleville-man/
Dfranklin – I’m so glad you said that. I was logging on here to write a letter to the edtior specifcally about this article. Such a tragic accident that has nothing to do with race. An example of the media dividing our people and pushing their woke agenda.
I’m sure he could not see the color of person I’m sure he’s feels bad .I’m sorry for the loss of the mother
Way to make it about race. Like Franklin said I hope you get fired. You’re the problem with this country.
Why would we expect anything more from such a poor rag? The Independent just tows the Media Agenda line. Doesn’t put much work or effort into their writing, just puts down enough ink to get the masses riled up. And if they can’t do it with their journalism, then they will do it by waving a race flag where it’s not needed. A woman died. She should be remembered as a person, not as a colored statistic.