Court Watching: Charges dismissed against Chestang after complainant won’t come in

David Jamal Chestang, 21, was due for his preliminary exam before Judge David Parrott on Sept. 23, but the complainant didn’t show up so the Prosecutor made a motion to dismiss the charges without prejudice, which means they can be refiled in the future.
Chestang was charged was assault with a dangerous weapon (felonious assault) and domestic violence in Van Buren Township on July 20 and was lodged in the Wayne County Jail on $10,000/10% bond. He was supposed to be brought to court, but the Sheriff’s Department failed to deliver him and he remained in jail. He was to be released later from the jail.
On that case, VBT Detective Donovan McCarthy is the officer in charge and court-appointed attorney Ronnie Strong was to represent the defendant. But, Strong wasn’t available and attorney Charles Rutledge stood in for him.
Chestang is in the middle of another case against him, home invasion first degree, and was granted $10,000 personal recognizance bond. That allegedly occurred on June 23 in VBT. He waived his preliminary exam before Judge Tina Brooks Green on July 15 and is set for a jury trial on that charge on Nov. 11 before Circuit Court Judge Megan Brennan.
Chestang also has a pending warrant out of Inkster on seven assault and weapons charges.
Randy Davon Gray, Jr.
Randy Davon Gray, Jr., 22, was ordered released from jail by Judge Parrott on Sept. 23 after the charge of felonious assault was reduced to a misdemeanor charge of aggravated assault. Gray agreed that he pulled a knife on somebody he was arguing with in the city of Belleville on Sept. 1.
The complainant was the grandfather of the person Gray was assaulting and the grandfather called the police. Gray was arrested the same day and had been in jail for 22 days on a bond of $20,000/10%. Belleville Officer Tim Trombly was the officer in charge.
Judge Parrott said this was a pretty serious charge and he didn’t want to sentence him to just time-served. He did sentence him to 22 days (time-served), six months of reporting probation, $1,045 in fees and fines, and other restrictions set by the probation department. He was ordered to have no contact with the victim.
It was possible that he could have been released from the courtroom and his mother went home to get him clothes to replace the yellow jail outfit he wore.
Court-appointed attorney Lankford represented the defendant.