34th District Court jury finds Sheena Barnes not guilty

After less than an hour of deliberation on Monday, a six-person jury at 34th District Court brought in a unanimous verdict of not guilty for Sheena Barnes, who had been charged by Sumpter Township for the ordinance violation of malicious use of a telephone.
After a jury of seven was chosen and sworn in at 10:05 a.m., Judge Brian A. Oakley explained that the prosecuting attorney had to prove three points for them to find Barnes guilty: she used a device with a service provider, she threatened physical harm, and she meant to terrorize or intimidate the victim.
The prosecuting attorney was Angela Mannarino, who is the Van Buren Township prosecutor and was filling in for Sumpter prosecutor Rob Young due to a conflict of interest.
Mannarino said on Aug. 19, 2022, Barnes called Sumpter Township Supervisor Tim Bowman and made threats to Bowman and his wife. Mannarino said he took his complaint to Sumpter police.
According to the 29-page police report, police considered a warrant through the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office, but decided to make it a local ordinance violation to keep control.
Defense attorney Rita F. Young said Barnes ran for the position of treasurer in 2022 and Bowman supported someone else. She said Barnes sent private messages to Bowman and she used coarse words. She said criticism is part of the political process and curse words are not against the law. She said such words are in rap music.
She said coarse jokes and messages were not sent with the intent to frighten or hurt them. She called it “coarse joking.”
Mannarino called 64-year-old Bowman to the witness stand as her first witness.
She asked his occupation and he said he was a general contractor and has been supervisor of Sumpter Township for over two years. He said on Aug. 19, 2022, he received a message on his phone. He was on the porch with his wife, scrolling through his phone and he found the message.
His testimony was interrupted several times by Bowman asking for the question to be repeated and he said he was hard of hearing. The attorneys upped their voice volumes and continued.
He said he recognized the voice on the phone as Sheena Barnes, who he identified in the courtroom next to her attorney.
Mannarino played part of the message to the jury, including that they were going to recall Bowman and: “…I’m gonna stick my stick up your ass and when I get done, Tim, you can find it coming out your wife…”
“There was more,” Bowman said, and Mannarino said that was all she was going to play. She asked him if the reference to the stick was what offended him.
Bowman testified he found that very offensive and the part that “come out of my wife,” he found offensive and threatening.
Defense attorney Young cross-examined Bowman and he denied being against Barnes running for township treasurer.
Attorney Young said on July 14, 2022 an article Barnes wrote was published that mentioned Bowman’s name, talking about overspending by the township and large raises. She said he clearly didn’t like her campaign agenda.
“I wouldn’t say I didn’t like it,” he said, adding what she said wasn’t true.
Young said Barnes had influence in the community and Bowman asked what kind of influence and then said he doesn’t communicate with Mrs. Barnes.
“You attended a political rally at her house,” Young said and Mannarino objected to such issues being brought in. Young said it was connected to the message she left him and it all happened in 2022.
“Don’t go too far,” Judge Oakley warned Young and then asked Bowman about the rally, “Did you?” and Bowman replied he did.
Young asked if a picture of that rally was posted in the newspaper and he said it wasn’t.
“I don’t read that newspaper regularly,” Bowman said, referring to the Independent where his business is advertised.
Young asked about the Facebook Messenger where you can text back and forth. She said Bowman sent texts to Barnes. She said it is a texting app for one-on-one communication, privately.
“I’m not into Facebook Messenger,” Bowman said.
Young said Bowman had written and posted on Barnes’ public Facebook page and Bowman said he had, but he rarely uses it.
Young said Barnes publicly posted daily prayers on her Facebook page. She said she had a copy of the prayer posted and a copy of the written response from Bowman calling her a devil in sheep’s clothing and saying she had demons.
Judge Oakley called a break and the witness and his wife and the jury left the courtroom. Judge Oakley questioned the relevance of talking about self defense to an assault. He said there is no self defense to a telephone threat.
Young said there was communication between the two of them and whether it’s a threat is up to the jury.
Judge Oakley said you can say these two had said nasty things to each other for years. And it’s OK she threatened him because he threatened her?
Judge Oakley said there is no defense and anything that happened prior to the call should be omitted.
Young asked to allow her to express the use of Messenger and other things and there was no physical threat.
“There is no defense to this charge,” Judge Oakley stated.
“They have a right to know why she did it,” Young said of the jury. She showed the prayer to the judge and what Bowman posted, three weeks before Barnes’ call.
She said there was name-calling by Bowman and intimidation because he posted it publicly.
“I’ll allow this and that’s all,” Judge Oakley said. “Nothing before.” He allowed three pages of evidence to be entered, with part of page three redacted. “Nothing more about what led up to this.”
Young said Bowman created signs and put an internet address on them after he uploaded the message for people to hear.
“It doesn’t explain what she did earlier,” Judge Oakley insisted. “How is everything he did after the 19th relevant?”
Young asked if the judge means he wouldn’t allow the signs to be brought as evidence and the judge said he doesn’t feel it’s relevant because it was after Aug. 19. Young said she objected and Judge Oakley said she can appeal.
The jury was called back into the courtroom and Bowman retook the witness stand.
Young presented the photocopies of the prayer and his posted comments that were to be entered into evidence and said, “You said she was a devil in sheep’s clothing.”
Bowman said he didn’t say that. He said he called her a wolf in sheep’s clothing, not a devil.
The comment said “beware of the devil” and referred to her as having demons and Bowman admitted that was true.
Young then asked about the police report he filed against Barnes. Bowman said it wasn’t with officers, but with two detectives.
“You told police you never called her a name,” Young said to Bowman, referring to the lengthy police report, and Mannarino objected as this not being relevant.
Young said she was talking about police interactions only. She continued, “You told the police department you weren’t concerned about the messages, only the one that she referred to ‘my wife.’”
“I wasn’t concerned,” Bowman said, adding but he was when it referred to his wife.
Young read the message again and said it was a coarse joke.
“A joke? A coarse joke?” Bowman said. “I consider that a threat.”
Young said, according to the police report he called somebody a “dumbass” and he accuses her of doing something he does. When the relevance was questioned again, Young said this is so the jury can evaluate this.
Judge Oakley excused the jury and the witness again so he could explain something.
When the courtroom was cleared of them, Judge Oakely said it’s OK to use coarse language with officers and how could that be relevant?
Young said he uses coarse jokes and he believes a coarse joke is a threat?
Mannarino said it’s because it refers to his wife and she’s not in politics.
“It’s a threat or intimidation?” Judge Oakley said. “He made it pretty clear it was about his wife.”
When the jury and witness came back, the testimony continued with Young reporting that Bowman said to the police officers that, “She’s f—ing crazy” and Bowman was laughing at the time.
“I was trying to find the humor,” Bowman replied.
“You sent her a thumbs up Aug. 18,” Young said.
“I accidentally sent her a thumbs up,” he replied.
“You called her yesterday,” Young said.
Bowman said that was an accident and he hung up immediately.
The next prosecution witness was Detective George Salajan who said he was involved in investigating the complaint and took statements from people. He said he spoke with Barnes and she said she sent the voice message.
“She’s quite a jokester,” Young said and Det. Salajan agreed. Young said Barnes blew a kiss to his body camera and he said that was so. Young said Barnes referred to her food truck, calling it a sardine can she uses to pay her taxes to pay his paycheck, and he agreed she said that.
Young said Barnes’ intent is the issue and she was never known to be violent.
Mannarino said she threatened Bowman’s life.
Young said it it is relevant because of the coarse joking and this officer has interreacted with her.
“I have no personal knowledge of her being a violent person,” Det. Salajan stated.
Young said it was in the police report and she would show him the report to refresh his memory.
After looking at the report, Salajan said Det./Lt. John Toth stated that he did not think she was violent. (Det./Lt. Toth who wrote the report has since retired.)
Mannarino objected and Judge Oakley said that was heresay.
Young quoted the heresay rule MRE 831.21. She said this goes to her reputation in the community and Salajan was there when Toth talked to her.
Judge Oakley sustained the objection and then asked Young to move on.
“I think I’m done,” Young said.
Mannarino said, “The people rest.”
After a break, Young called Peggy Morgan as a defense witness. Morgan said she is a Sumpter Township trustee, elected in 2004. She said she had been in office for 20 years. She said she met Bowman when he ran, three years ago.
She said she knew Barnes for 20 years. She described Barnes as having a great reputation in the community, having a fantastic personality, and she is caring, loving, religious and Morgan couldn’t ask for a better person.
Young asked if Morgan wrote articles in the Independent against Bowman’s reputation and the judge called out, “Not relevant!”
Morgan stepped down from the witness stand.
Young called Sheena Barnes to testify on her own behalf. Barnes said she has lived in Sumpter for 63 years and she is 63 years old. She said she has never been convicted of a crime and for the last four years every day she has posted prayers.
She said Bowman and her used to rent from the same landlord, he with his tree business and she had her food truck. She said she was appointed Sumpter Township trustee and served two and a half years. Young asked Barnes if there was a lot of campaign bantering between her and Bowman and if he went to the rally at her house before the primary, but before she could answer, Mannarino objected and the judge sustained the objection.
Young asked if Barnes sent a personal, private message for his ears only and Barnes said she did. Barnes said it wasn’t a threat to him and, “I was being facetious.” She said it’s quite obvious she can’t put a stick up one rear and have it come out somewhere else. She said this was directly, privately to Bowman.
Mannarino objected, saying it was not relevant how the message was sent.
“I think it was relevant because it was supposed to be private,” Young said, if she’s in front of a home with a gun that would be a threat.
Judge Oakley said if it was sent privately, there’s no difference. She told Young to move on or he’ll hold her in contempt.
Young asked Barnes what was her intent and she replied: “I didn’t mean any harm. If I was threatening, I would go to his home and threaten to harm… How could it come out someone else? He was going back and forth with me. He offended me three or four times, and I let it go. He called me yesterday and called me day before yesterday. He’s a bully, in my book.”
After closing arguments, the jury went to lunch and came back for jury instructions.
The jury of five women and two men was reduced to six before deliberations. It was in deliberations from 12:30 to 1:18 p.m. when the not-guilty verdict was read and the jury polled to make sure it was unanimous.