Scott Jones of Van Buren Township, resident agent of the Belleville Yacht Club, was present before 34th District Court Chief Judge Brian A. Oakley on April 15 for a pre-trial via zoom on a VBT criminal misdemeanor charge of violation of technical requirements.
The BYC, of 831 E. Huron River Dr., was arraigned Feb. 4 on a violation discovered at 2 p.m. on Oct. 6, 2020.
Van Buren Township Prosecutor Angela Mannarino said the BYC has been to court twice and had the case adjourned so the club can see what it can do with the state.
Judge Oakley asked Jones if the BYC was incorporated and he said it was. Judge Oakley advised Jones that corporate defendants have to be represented by an attorney. Jones said he didn’t know that.
Judge Oakley asked the court attorney Leanna Belcher to meet with Jones in a remote break-out room to discuss the situation. After they returned from the break-out room, Belcher advised the judge that the BYC has submitted paperwork to the state and she will forward that paperwork to Mannarino.
Judge Oakley set the next court session on the matter for 9 a.m., May 20.
The case began on Oct. 6 when a Van Buren Township lake resident notified the township that new docks were being installed at the Belleville Yacht Club on Belleville Lake, according to the police report obtained by the Independent through a Freedom of Information Act request.
VBT Police Lt. Charles Bazzy and Matthew Best, VBT Director of Public Services and responsible for building and planning, went to the Michigan DNR East Boat Launch on Belleville Lake, right next door to the BYC.
They saw a brand-new dock had been installed at the BYC. The new dock had new piers driven into the lake bed and the new dock was affixed to these piers. They saw a barge secured to the second dock at the location. It was apparent that construction of a new dock was in progress replacing the existing dock.
Code Enforcement Officer Robert Queener was summoned to place a stop-work order on the project since no permits had been obtained from VBT.
According to the police report, Director Best contacted Tim Pastor, the person in charge of the project from Waterfront Deck and Dock and he came to township hall and confirmed he did not have any permits from MDEQ or VBT, as required. Pastor stated he had driven helical piers into the lake bed and had to go as deep as 40’ to install the piers because of the amount of silt on the lake bottom.
According to the police report, Pastor stated the helical piers were considered temporary, but when they asked him if the piers were going to be removed seasonally, his answer was no. Director Best instructed Pastor to put together a plan to present to the township how he can comply with the Lake Ordinance with his current project.
The police report gave background on the situation, stating 831 E. Huron River Dr. had two floating dock assemblies on Belleville Lake prior to the new dock construction. The previous floating structures had non-conforming use status since they were installed prior to the current VBT Lake Ordinance and Zoning Ordinance. The property had non-conforming status for property line setback, number of boat slips, distance that the docks could be from the shoreline and the amount of lake frontage that could be used for structures in a R1C zoned property.
The previous non-conforming floating docks each had eight boat slips for a total of 16 boat slips. The newly installed dock has a total of 12 boat slips and if construction had continued there would have been a total of 24 total new boat slips.
The current VBT Lake/Zoning ordinances only allow for 10 boat slips on the property. The previous non-conforming docks extended out 50 feet into the lake from the shoreline. The current ordinance allows a dock of 40 feet. The newly constructed dock extends approximately 75 feet into Belleville Lake from the shoreline.
Once new construction begins on a site, the previous non-conforming status is void.
The new docks also do not meet the requirement for property line setbacks from the adjacent properties, one being a public access site belonging to the State of Michigan to the west and the other a private residential property located to the east.
The setback on the State of Michigan property is five feet from the property line and there is no setback on the residential property located to the east. The current legal setback requires that there be a minimum of a 10’ setback on the property lines.
On Oct. 7, the township checked with EGLE (MDEQ) for any information on permits issued to the BYC for the construction of the new docks on Belleville Lake and it was confirmed there were no permits issued to BYC. The only permit on file with EGLE (MDEQ) was for replacing the seawall at the BYC issued in 2013. A complaint on the dock replacement was then filed with the State of Michigan EGLE (MDEQ).
According to the police report, on Oct. 12 a citation for a Miscellaneous Criminal Offense was issued to the BYC for violations of the Van Buren Township Zoning Ordinance: Section 3.12 Belleville Lake Shoreline districts (C)(1)(a)(b)(i) and (D)(4)(a)(b), (5), (6)(9a)(d)(e).
Lamarcus Antwan Anderson-Campbell
Lamarcus Antwan Anderson-Campbell of Toledo was scheduled for his probable cause conference on April 14 before Judge Lisa Martin. Anderson-Campbell is charged with first-degree retail fraud on March 6 in Van Buren Township.
His appointed defense attorney Natalie Phelps demanded a live preliminary examination and it was set for 2 p.m. July 7 before Judge Martin. Anderson-Campbell is free on $10,000 personal bond.
Angelo Thomas Coward
Angelo Thomas Coward, 29, of Redford, was set for an April 14 pretrial and remote arraignment on a DNR charge of violating Personal Watercraft Safety by operating without a boating safety certificate at 7:48 p.m. on Aug. 22, 2020.
When he did not appear at court, Judge Martin said she was issuing a bench warrant for his arrest, but Coward called the court and stated his phone won’t let him stay on zoom.
He was scheduled for a May 26 remote arraignment/pretrial.
Sonya Gasper
Sonya Gasper, 45, of Sumpter Township, had been charged by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services for welfare fraud (failure to inform) of $500 or more and welfare fraud over $500 on April 19, 2016.
Her probable cause conference had been set for April 14 before Judge Martin, but a plea hearing was held and the charges were dismissed on a motion of the prosecuting attorney. The case was closed.
At a previous hearing, it was noted that Gasper had paid all the money back. Michigan Assistant Attorney General Robert Hayes was prosecuting attorney.
Jennifer Christine McGlone
Jennifer Christine McGlone, 31, of Ypsilanti and previously of Van Buren Township, was scheduled for a court appearance on April 14 before Judge Martin for having no insurance under the insurance code at 9:01 a.m., Dec. 15, 2018, and for impeding traffic. She did not appear on April 14 and Judge Martin put out a bench warrant for her arrest for failure to appear.
Teddy Allen Robinson
Teddy Allen Robinson, 36, of Romulus was charged with open intoxicants in vehicle/passenger, possession of narcotic paraphernalia, and false request for ambulance service at 9:53 p.m., June 23, 2019 in the city of Belleville.
A remote pretrial by zoom was set for April 14 before Judge Martin, but the Wayne County Jail, where he was now incarcerated, didn’t know he had a court session and didn’t bring him by zoom. Robinson’s probable cause conference was reset to 8:30 a.m. on April 28 before Chief Judge Oakley. Robinson is free on $5,000 personal bond.
Jagger Mack Timoszyk
Jagger Mack Timoszyk, 19, of Van Buren Township pled guilty to two charges brought by the Department of Natural Resources at 6:50 p.m., Aug. 29 in Van Buren Township: violation of the Marine Safety counter-clockwise operation/100 foot rule and violation of Marine Safety Standards.
Timoszyk told Judge Martin that he had been trying to pay his fines for those violations but the court was closed and he had moved from his father’s house in Wayne and he didn’t get the mailed notices until recently.
He said he is working six days a week on surveying in Detroit and doesn’t get off work until 6 p.m., long after court is closed. He said he is anxious to pay his fines and clear his record.
Judge Martin set his fines at $395 for the first offense and $230 for the second for a total of $625, which he will pay in 30 days. She gave him advice on the several ways he can pay, including converting the payment to a money order and placing it in the drop box after hours.
Timoszyk told Judge Martin he was pulled over for speeding one to five mph over the limit on Feb. 24 in Van Buren Township and would like some help in getting that settled. Since it was a township ticket they have to deal with the township prosecutor, but the court will look into the ticket’s status and get back to Timoszyk. A remote proceeding on the ticket later was set for May 28. Total cost is $180.
Jason Scott Tye
Jason Scott Tye, 43, of Van Buren Township, was before Judge Martin on April 14 by zoom from the Wayne County Jail where he is being held on $100,000 cash or surety bond.
Tye is charged with third-offense domestic violence and interfering with a crime report on April 1 in Van Buren Township.
Tye’s defense attorney James Parker of the Neighborhood Defense Service said he wanted a live preliminary exam as soon as possible since his client was incarcerated. The exam was set for May 11 at 1:30 p.m. in Judge Martin’s court.
He also asked Judge Martin for a reasonable bond but said he did not object to a tether. He said the complaining witness has moved out of their house and so he could go home.
Prosecutor Darrian Fortier said there is a reason the bond is so high and this is the third domestic violence. She said she would ask the officer in charge to send discovery to Parker as soon as possible.
Judge Martin denied the request to modify the bond.