Court Watching: Judge Green reduces charge against Cynthia Richards in VBT

The misdemeanor charge of aggravated assault against Cynthia Elizabeth Richards, 24, of Van Buren Township was reduced to a charge of disorderly person after a lively Oct. 19 trial with a hostile witness who was thought to be the victim.
34th District Court Chief Judge Tina Brooks Green and Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Doug Dwyer worked together to sort out the confusing aspects of what happened on Aug. 24 at 6555 Outer Drive in Van Buren Township.
Richards said everybody was drunk and so nobody knows what happened.
She told Judge Green that if she is found guilty of aggravated assault she will be automatically fired from her job as a pharmacy technician because the State of Michigan will not allow pharmacists with violent backgrounds to be licensed.
She said seven years ago she had a domestic violence charge.
At the end of all the deliberations, Judge Green found her guilty of being a disorderly person and deferred sentencing for one year. If Richards stays out of trouble for a year, the case will be wiped from her record.
“It is not reported,” Judge Green stressed, “as long as there’s no trouble for a year.”
Richards said she goes to Alcoholics Anonymous three times a week because she can’t afford other treatment.
Judge Green added proof of weekly AA meetings to her guidelines.
Richards said she drug tests every week and, “I don’t need any guidance.”
Judge Green said she is ordering no costs and at the end of the year the charge is dismissed.
“No fines or costs and keep going to AA,” Judge Green said, as the court session ended.
Richards had explained that her drug of choice is cocaine and she has been off that. She goes to AA instead of NA because the AA meetings are closer to her home and she cannot afford other treatment.
“We don’t want her to lose her job or put back her recovery,” Prosecutor Dwyer said.
He said he offered as good a deal as he could to her, including disorderly person, and she turned him down on all of it.
Dwyer said they could dismiss the charge, but Judge Green said no, “If not procedurally correct, it’s out of the box.”
The trial started with hostile witness Helena Marie Weeks, mother of the accused, who told Judge Green at an earlier court session that she would not testify against her daughter and if they tried to serve her a subpoena she would disappear and they wouldn’t be able to find her.
VBT Detective Mark Buxton tried to serve her and after many attempts, left the subpoena in her door. It fell on the ground and she said it is still there.
When the trial was first set, the mother didn’t show up and the court-appointed defense attorney asked for a dismissal. Judge Green, instead, told Det. Buxton to make greater efforts to get her in to testify.
On Oct. 19, Weeks took the stand. She testified that on the day in question she was drinking heavily and was working on her second fifth of Canada House whiskey. She said she started drinking alone and later her boyfriend and her son were there.
“I don’t remember much of that day at all,” Weeks testified under oath.
She said her boyfriend works at Bridgewater Tire and was at work at the moment.
She said she doesn’t remember her daughter getting arrested. She testified she kept trying to call her daughter that night, but got no response so she called the Van Buren Township police in the morning and found out Cynthia was in custody.
“Nobody told you your daughter assaulted you?” Prosecutor Dwyer asked and she replied, “I don’t remember.”
Judge Green reminded Weeks that she came to court about one and a half months ago and said her daughter had enough issues and she wouldn’t testify against her.
“I drank two fifths of liquor and I don’t remember what happened,” Weeks insisted.
“You said you weren’t coming back,” Judge Green reminded her and Weeks replied, “I came of my own free will today. I never got served.”
Prosecutor Dwyer said Weeks avoided Det. Buxton and Weeks said he stuck it in the door and it fell on the ground and “I never touched it.”
She testified a neighbor picked it up, a “nosey neighbor.”
Dwyer asked her if the neighbor read it and told her what it was and Weeks replied, “It’s still where the wind blew it.”
Dwyer asked Judge Green for a continuance of the proceedings so police could go get Weeks’ boyfriend at his work to bring him as a witness.
“He’s never been served,” Weeks said.
Det. Buxton said he has sat at their house and knocked on the door. He said he could drive out to Bridgewater Tire and serve him.
Judge Green decided against a continuance and the trial continued.
Second witness was VBT Police Officer Mark King, who testified he was sent out to 6555 Outer Drive on Aug. 24 and found chaos, with people walking around out in the street.
Officer King said when he arrived Weeks was in the ambulance being treated for a three inch laceration. Richards was out in the street intoxicated.
Officer King said neighbors told him she had physically assaulted her mother, so he took her into custody.
He testified that David Lake, Sr. and Jr. were in the trailer and both said Cynthia pushed down her mother and her mother fell down, and then she pushed her down again and she hit her head.
“My little brother is 12 and has no common sense,” Richards said.
Prosecutor Dwyer offered to alter the charge from aggravated assault to drunk and disorderly or disorderly person, based on the officer’s testimony.
Judge Green talked about Weeks’ persistent refusal to testify or appear and testimony that everyone was intoxicated and the police were called.
Weeks tried to speak from the courtroom and Judge Green told her to leave the courtroom. Weeks yelled out she was going to call her attorney.
Judge Green said in light of the circumstances and the statements made to the officer on that day, and that the mother’s statement that her biggest concern was she didn’t want her daughter to lose her job, she would consider the statements to the officer “excited utterances” and she would find the defendant guilty as charged.
Then, they discussed Richards’ statement that nobody remembers anything about what happened and her fears about losing her job.
“The difficulty of the witnesses shouldn’t be on her head,” Judge Green said. That’s when she amended the charge to disorderly person and Richards said she would appeal.
Judge Green said she could appeal, if she wanted, but she explained in detail that the disorderly charge would not be recorded unless she did something wrong over the next year.
After the court session was over, Weeks came back to the court and told Magistrate/Court Administrator Al Hindman to pass a message on to Judge Green: “Thank you very much.”
Judge Green said later, “That was a very happy ending to the story.”
Audrey Brantley
Audrey Brantley, 47, waived her preliminary exam on charges of possession of narcotics or cocaine and operating with a high blood alcohol content on Dec. 5, 2015 in VBT. She was bound over to circuit court for an arraignment on the information Nov. 2.
She is free after posting $5,000/10% bond. Her court-appointed attorney is Christopher Shemke and VBT Det. Ken Toney is the officer in charge of the case.
Michel Scott Kane
Michael Scott Kane, 46, waived his preliminary exam on charges of unarmed robbery, unauthorized driving away of a motor vehicle, receiving and concealing stolen property and receiving and concealing a stolen motor vehicle on May 9 in VBT. He is scheduled for an arraignment on the information at circuit court on Nov. 2.
Kane is free after posting $25,000/10% bond. David Rudoi is his retained attorney and Det. Buxton is the officer in charge.
In a Sept. 14 court hearing, Rudoi said a competency hearing had been held on his client.