Court Watching: Judge Green dismisses charge against Johnson while officer on vacation

On March 11 at 34th District Court, Justin Cleeve Johnson, 17, of Van Buren Township, who was charged with unauthorized driving away of a motor vehicle on Nov. 25 in Van Buren Township, was set for his preliminary exam.
Judge Tina Brooks Green dismissed the case at the request of the Neighborhood Defense Service attorney Diamond Lynn Conley because Van Buren Township Police Officer Donovan McCarthy was on vacation and wouldn’t be present to testify. Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Lori Mireles-Smith had asked for a two-week adjournment, but Judge Green said the police knew McCarthy would be on vacation and sat through last week’s probable cause conference without mentioning it to the court. Prosecutor Smith said she had just been informed that morning that McCarthy was not coming.