Court Watching: Chad Stevens bound over to face charge of aggravated stalking

On July 10, a preliminary exam was held for Chad Martin Stevens, 29, before 34th District Court Judge David Parrott. The felony charge was aggravated stalking in Belleville on July 3, 2016.
The only witness called by Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Larry King was Amber Lewis, who testified the defendant was her ex-boyfriend.
She lived in the City of Belleville and worked at CVS Pharmacy in Van Buren Township in the summer of 2016 when this happened.
Lewis testified she got a Personal Protection Order against Stevens after he threatened to push her out of a moving vehicle in March 2016. She said he called her by phone, at home and on her job. She said on June 6 he called saying he wanted his daughter. On June 28, he parked next to her car in the CVS parking lot and she was escorted to her car by her boss.
She said she started to drive home and he followed her, so she called 911 and pulled into a church parking lot across from Burger King to talk to the dispatcher. She testified she was still on the phone with 911 when she saw him again and the dispatcher told her to drive back to CVS, which she did.
She testified on July 2, while at work at CVS, she received a call from her next-door neighbor who told her not to come home because he was parked at her home.
“I changed my number after he came to my work,” she said.
Under cross-examination, Lewis testified that there were three or four incidents before she made a report to police. She said she quit her job at CVS.
She testified she has full custody of their six-year-old daughter and she went to court to get that. She said the defendant put his hands on her in Inkster on June 21, 2016. She said she has no records on any phone calls.
Judge Parrott said it was a question of fact and so he bound Stevens over to circuit court for an arraignment on the information on July 24.
Stevens was arraigned June 22 at 34th District Court and is free after posting bond of $7,500/10%. His bond requires no contact to Amber Lewis or her home and no drugs or alcohol.
Belleville officer in charge of the case is Jeff Wickham.
Breonna Catherine Blakely
Breonna Catherine Blakely, 24, was due for her preliminary exam before Judge Parrott on July 10, but the prosecutor asked that the charges be dismissed without prejudice, which means they can be refiled in the future. The charges were dismissed by the complaining party.
Blakely had been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and domestic violence in Van Buren Township on June 19. Her court-appointed attorney was Henry Schneider.
Gage Bryant Harris
The preliminary exam for Gage Bryant Harris, 25, was adjourned for a week, to July 17, at the request of the prosecutor, who explained the eye-witness was not in court and the officer in charge of the case had a conflict and could not be there.
Harris is facing charges of home invasion – 1st degree, assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and domestic violence on May 21 in Van Buren Township.
Kathy L. Smith-Franklin
Kathy L. Smith-Franklin had been charged with possession of cocaine in the City of Belleville on June 6. She pled guilty to use of a narcotic, which is a misdemeanor, and the felony charge of possession of narcotic was dismissed. The charge will be taken under advisement for 12 months and then dropped if there are no further arrests. Judge Parrott sentenced her to four days on the work program, but her attorney said she had medical problems. Judge Parrott said the probation department could convert that to community service with proof of physical problems. She also was sentenced to take the Reality Check program and pay $750.
Her court appointed attorney asked Judge Parrott to order the tether she was wearing removed and the judge so ordered.
Jarell Isah Hill
Jarell Isah Hill, 21, waived his preliminary exam and Magistrate Lisa Martin bound him over for an arraignment on the information on July 17 at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice. Hill is lodged in the Wayne County Jail on bond of $50,000/10%.
Hill is charged with receiving and concealing firearms, possession of a weapon by a felon, and felony firearm on June 19 in the City of Belleville. Retained attorney is Kevin Bessant.
A warrant also has been signed for Hill for a violation of probation for another weapon arrest last November.