Court Watching: Judge Oakley binds over Anna McKenzie for assault with frying pan

34th District Court Judge Brian A. Oakley found probable cause to bind Anna Crystal McKenzie, 18, over to circuit court to face charges of assault with a dangerous weapon (frying pan) and aggravated domestic violence.
Her preliminary exam was held June 29 and two witnesses testified: the alleged victim and her sister.
Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Hillary Brooke Zuzow questioned Daijanee Cooper, the alleged victim.
Cooper testified that on June 5 her home was an apartment at 41500 N. Bellridge in Van Buren Township. She said about three days earlier she had told her roommate, Anna McKenzie, that she didn’t want to stay there anymore.
Cooper testified she worked until 9 p.m. that day and got home about 9:20. She said when she arrived, she found her life-size, stuffed bear was ripped and McKenzie had ripped it.
“I tried to get my stuff to take to the car,” Cooper testified, adding McKenzie kept yelling out to her, “I hope you die, die…”
Cooper said McKenzie had organized the closet so that their clothes were separated into two sections. McKenzie had some of Cooper’s clothes on her side of the closet, so she took them. McKenzie said Cooper was taking some of her clothes.
Cooper testified McKenzie’s two-year-old son was talking to her in the kitchen and McKenzie came and got him and put him on the couch. Then McKenzie went into the kitchen, got a skillet, and hit Cooper in the right side of her face as Cooper stood in the bathroom.
“I fell on the sink and hit my head,” Cooper testified, adding, “I don’t recall too much.” She said she was in the hospital for three weeks and suffers from a loss of memory. She said she is in treatment three days a week.
McKenzie’s court-appointed attorney Wade McCann cross-examined Cooper and asked her about VBT Officer Patrick Wehrman calling her at 2:30 p.m. that day saying McKenzie called police because Cooper threatened to beat her up, or have people come over and beat her up. Officer Wehrman told her to call police for a civil standby when she was ready to come back for her things, but she didn’t, McCann said.
Cooper said her big brother was with her and her sister was already there packing up her things. And, she brought her older sister and another sister because she was packing up all her belongings.
She said things were calm when they began and then a dispute arose because McKenzie thought the clothes Cooper was taking were hers.
“She pushed me,” Cooper testified.
Attorney McCann asked if she threw McKenzie to the floor and Cooper said she didn’t.
Cooper testified that she bought McKenzie’s phone and gave it to her to use. McCann asked if she was dipping the phone in the toilet and she said she wasn’t and she was alone in the bathroom.
McCann asked if McKenzie was wedging the frying pan in the door so Cooper couldn’t close it and Cooper said that wasn’t so.
McCann asked if Cooper was pounding McKenzie’s head onto the floor and into her son?
“I don’t recall hitting her,” Cooper answered.
McCann entered into evidence three pictures of injuries. One to McKenzie’s eye, one to a rug burn on her back and the third of the two-year-old son’s torn fingernail.
“I don’t know how she got injuries,” Cooper testified, saying the boy’s fingernail was torn two days before the fight.
Prosecutor Zuzow said the witness has a closed-head injury and has testified that she doesn’t recall the altercation and doesn’t recall hitting McKenzie.
McCann said Cooper has testified that she remembers everything before she got hit in the face with the frying pan and not much afterward, but she testified they did not have a fight.
Cooper’s sister Cherniece Doss was the next witness and she said she went to the apartment at 1 p.m. that day to help her sister pack up. She said McKenzie was angry and grabbed bleach to pour over Cooper’s clothes and Doss grabbed the bleach and poured it down the drain. That’s when McKenzie grabbed a knife and stabbed Cooper’s bear, Doss said.
“I grabbed the clothes and she called the police,” the sister said, noting the police couldn’t do anything.
She said after Cooper arrived, McKenzie hit her first, in the bedroom and then the fighting continued into the living room. That’s when McKenzie got the frying pan and hit Cooper on the side of the face, Doss testified.
Doss said Cooper was in and out of consciousness and couldn’t breathe. The ambulance came and she stayed with Cooper in the ambulance.
Under cross-examination, defense attorney McCann said that Cooper and McKenzie had words over the phone in the afternoon and that’s when McKenzie called the police, around 2:30 p.m.
Doss testified she actually didn’t exactly see who hit first. She said Cooper picked up the phone to take it back and McKenzie wanted to call the police and so she tried to get the phone back. She testified there was a lot of fighting and both were striking each other and the TV fell over. Cooper put the phone under running water from the faucet, Doss said.
Doss testified McKenzie didn’t use the frying pan for a wedge in the door and the door wasn’t closed. She said they didn’t fight while the child was there. Doss testified there was fighting with punches again after the frying pan incident.
“Did your sister have a weapon?” Prosecutor Zuzow asked her and Doss replied Cooper had no weapon. Zuzow asked if Cooper threatened McKenzie and the sister said no. Zuzow noted Cooper only had the phone she had purchased.
Zuzow asked Judge Oakley to bind over McKenzie for trial at circuit court.
Defense attorney McCann said in response that McKenzie had been threatened and Cooper brought a group of people to the apartment and disregarded the police request for a civil standby. Cooper said there was no fighting until the frying pan, but her sister said there was continuous fighting and she didn’t see who struck first.
He agreed it was an issue of fact for circuit court to decide.
Zuzow said Cooper was to call for a civil standby if she felt it was necessary and it wasn’t. There was a slight bruise on McKenzie’s face but no one knows how she got it, Zuzow said.
“Only one person was injured,” Zuzow said, noting Cooper spent close to three weeks in the hospital and suffered a closed-head injury. She asked that the case be bound over for a trier of fact (circuit court) to consider.
Judge Oakley said he found probable cause that a crime was committed and that McKenzie may have done the crime. He said even if he throws out everything Cooper said, there is reason to bind this over.
McKenzie was due at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice at 9 a.m., July 13. Her bond of $5,000/10% which she posted was continued.
Officer in charge of the case is VBT Police Det. Ken Toney.
Nicholas Amos McDonald
Nicholas Amos McDonald, 26, waived his preliminary exam before Judge Oakley on felony charges and was scheduled to be at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice on July 6 for his arraignment on the information.
At circuit court, however, Judge Gregory Bill adjourned the arraignment on the information until July 8 at the request of the court.
McDonald is facing charges of home invasion-2nd and larceny in a building in Sumpter Township on May 2. He is also labeled a habitual offender, which would increase any penalties.
His court-appointed attorney David Langford said McDonald is lodged and serving time on another charge through July 16. Sumpter Det. John Toth is the officer in charge and bond had been set at $20,000/10%.
Allen Jean Crawford
Allen Jean Crawford, 28, waived his preliminary exam by video from the Wayne County Jail and was due on these charges at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice on July 6.
On July 6, Judge David A. Groner dismissed all the charges and ordered return of fingerprints and arrest records.
Crawford had been charged with delivering / manufacturing non-narcotic drugs, creating / delivering a counterfeit substance (non-narcotic), police officer assault, and driving while license suspended in the City of Belleville on March 25.
His retained attorney was Mark Brown and the officer in charge of the case was Belleville Officer Mark Wickham. Bond was set at $5,000/10%.
On another case that was settled July 6, Crawford accepted a plea bargain and was sentenced to 12 months of probation starting July 6 after pleading guilty to a charge of delivery / manufacture – methamphetamine/ecstasy in a Feb. 2 incident, followed by a failure to appear at court. A second charge of delivery / manufacture (narcotic or cocaine) less than 50 grams was dismissed. He is labeled a habitual offender. Crawford was credited with the 58 days he served in jail on the charges.
Robert Dale Cannon
The probable cause conference for Robert Dale Cannon, 45, on two charges of carrying a concealed weapon on Feb. 15 in VBT was delayed until July 20 so his retained attorney David Bogard can get more evidence through discovery.
Cannon is out on $5,000 personal recognizance bond. Officer in charge of the case is VBT Det. Ken Toney.
Belva Lynn Jarzyna
Belva Lynn Jarzyna, 54, is facing charges of operating while intoxicated-3rd, driving while license suspended, and driver with open intoxicants in VBT on Jan. 12.
Her court-appointed attorney David Langford told Judge Oakley he believes a charge reduction is appropriate and so the probable cause conference was adjourned until July 27 when Jarzyna will appear before Judge Tina Brooks Green.
VBT Det. Toney is the officer in charge. Jarzyna is free on personal recognizance bond of $10,000.
Brian Keith Melvin
Brian Keith Melvin, 62, waived his preliminary exam on a charge of operating with a high blood alcohol content on Oct. 26, 2015 in VBT and he is due to be at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice on July 13 for an arraignment on the information.
His personal recognizance bond of $5,000 with GPS tether was continued, but Melvin was lodged at the moment on another charge.
His court-appointed attorney is Langford and the officer in charge is VBT Det. Donovan McCarthy.
Michael Sean Gartz
Michael Sean Gartz, 35, waived his preliminary exam on a charge of breaking and entering a motor vehicle with damage to the vehicle in VBT on May 8. He is free on $10,000 personal recognizance bond. Gartz is due at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice on July 13. His court-appointed attorney is David Langford.
Jamie Lynn Kilburn
Jamie Lynn Kilburn, 36, waived his preliminary exam on charges of operating while intoxicated causing injuries, failure to stop at a personal injury accident, and driving while license suspended on Aug. 26, 2015 in VBT. His court-appointed attorney is Frederick Smith and the officer in charge is VBT Det. Ken Toney.
He is free on $10,000 personal recognizance bond. He is due at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice for an arraignment on the information on July 13.
Rebecca Sue Helton
Rebecca Sue Helton, 30, who was lodged in the Wayne County Jail on $10,000/10% bond, was due to be delivered for her scheduled preliminary exam before Judge Oakley on June 29, but the Wayne County drivers forgot to deliver her
She was facing one count of obtaining a controlled substance by fraudulent means and one charge of attempting to obtain controlled substance by fraudulent means in VBT on June 6, 2014. Officer in charge was VBT Det. Donovan McCarthy. David Langford was the court-appointed attorney.
On July 6, Helton was brought from jail to face her preliminary exam before Judge Tina Brooks Green, but attorney Langford announced that both felonies had been dismissed in return for her pleading guilty to a misdemeanor, attempted possession of analogues.
Helton told Judge Green she had gone to rehab and Alcoholics Anonymous and she’s approaching the 24th month of being clean. She has a two-year-old child.
Helton said she didn’t know about this charge from 2014 and Judge Green said she had seen Helton in her courtroom on other charges since then. Helton said she had been in jail almost a month. Judge Green released her on personal bond and gave her a one-year deferred sentence and fine of $750 on the misdemeanor.
Helton also has another court date before Judge Oakley on July 19.
Det. McCarthy told Judge Green: “We know she needs some help.”