Christian Latrail Thomas, 27, of Van Buren Township is charged with fleeing a police officer, reckless driving, and failure to stop after a collision on Sept. 10, 2020 in Van Buren Township. His arraignment and probable cause conference was held on Oct. 6 and his preliminary examination was set for Oct. 13. Charges had been dismissed and then refiled.
After a preliminary exam before 34th District Court Chief Judge Brian Oakley, Thomas was bound over to circuit court for an Oct. 27 arraignment on the information. A Nov. 10 calendar conference was set and then changed to Dec. 22. A final conference was set for Jan. 31.
Van Buren Township Police Officer Jason Tront testified that he was dispatched to find a vehicle that left the scene of a 3 p.m. accident at Belleville Road and the North I-94 Service Drive. He was told the red Chevy pickup had driven to Southport Apartments and he turned into the complex and the red pickup was coming out. He said he got a good look at the driver and identified him in the courtroom.
He testified he attempted to make a traffic stop, but the truck didn’t stop and turned left on the Service Drive hitting speeds of 85 mph driving to Haggerty Road and got on the eastbound ramp to I-94 and then spun around and went back to Haggerty and then east on the westbound ramp, the wrong way. Officer Tront said he stopped the chase.
The accident had minor damage and the driver did not wish to prosecute. Police got identification from people at the accident and the picture was turned over to the detective bureau who got a name.
Van Buren Township Detective Mike Long testified he received the case from the patrol unit and posted the picture on Facebook and a police intel site and Thomas turned himself in the next day.
Hezekiah Hudson
Hezekiah Hudson, 20, formerly of Sumpter Township (now of Ypsilanti) was arraigned by Judge Martin on July 20 on a charge of reckless use of a handgun on July 18 in Van Buren Township. Judge Martin set personal bond of $5,000 and told Hudson not to return to the Red Roof Inn at 45501 N. I-94 Service Dr. His remote zoom pretrial on the misdemeanor was set for Aug. 11, but Hudson failed to appear and a warrant for his arrest was signed and his personal bond revoked.
Judge Green had reminded Hudson that he owed a total of $822 to the court on two previous cases and he said he would contact the court and set up a payment plan, which he did.
On Sept. 5 he was back in custody and posted $400 cash bond. His remote pretrial was set for Oct. 13, but he failed to appear. It was to be set for a show-cause hearing.
Hudson also is charged with malicious destruction of police property in Van Buren Township on July 31. He was due for a remote arraignment and pre-trial on Nov. 4, which he also missed.
On Nov. 23, Hudson called the court and said he is very confused and had no idea about his failure to appear and he is in the hospital now and unable to appear or handle his cases. He was advised he had to have proof of hospitalization sent to the court.
Micaiah Carlin Minor
Micaiah Carlin Minor, 19, of Canton, who had been charged with second-degree murder in the auto crash that killed a 64-year-old Van Buren Township resident, opted for a plea deal in circuit court and pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter, which could have brought him up to 15 years in prison.
On July 21, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Talon dismissed the murder charge and scheduled sentencing for Sept. 29 after the Probation Department came up with a pre-sentencing report.
Van Buren Township Lt. Ken Floro said they did reach a plea agreement with the family in this case but the prosecutor’s office did not share the specifics with him. He said, unfortunately, the wife of the victim passed away at the end of 2020 and the family advocate became her sister, who lives in Pennsylvania. She did not want to go through a trial and was cooperative with a reasonable plea.
The case has been wiped from the circuit court website.
Minor was charged in the death of John Robert McElreath, 64, on May 7, 2019 in an auto crash at the intersection of Belleville and Ecorse roads. It was alleged that Minor, an unlicensed driver was driving southbound on Belleville Road at a high rate of speed, when he disregarded a red light at Ecorse, crossed over the double-yellow lines and drove into northbound traffic, striking the victim in his car. McElreath died from his injuries in the crash. Minor was 17 at the time of the crash.
Bruce Jeanguy Levesque
Bruce Jeanguy Levesque, 25, of Van Buren Township was not present for his July 28 probable cause conference and it was adjourned to Sept. 1. Judge Oakley said this defendant had gone MIA before. He was facing two counts of criminal sexual conduct fourth-degree (incest) in Van Buren Township on May 17, 2020.
On Sept. 1, Judge Oakley set the preliminary exam for Oct. 18 or earlier if possible. Levesque is free on $20,000 personal bond with the condition he cannot have contact with the complaining victim nor return to an address on S. Ponderosa Trail.
On Oct. 25, the live preliminary exam was held before Judge Oakley and charges were dismissed and the case closed. Judge Oakley said he found the complaining victim’s testimony to be incredible.
Kevin Joseph Bonam
The probable cause conference for Kevin Joseph Bonam, 43, of Van Buren Township had been set for July 28, but the complaining witness had foot surgery and could not appear. The live preliminary exam had to be scheduled before Judge Green because she had Bonam’s misdemeanor before her. Judge Green was on vacation, so the date of the live preliminary exam was later set by her for Sept. 15. On Sept. 15 all charges were dismissed without prejudice because the complaining witness wouldn’t testify.
Bonam had been charged with first-degree home invasion, malicious destruction of property between $100 and $1,000 in value and two aggravated assaults on Sept. 22, 2020 in Van Buren Township. He had been free on $20,000 personal bond and had to wear a tether.
Lillie Lee Heard
Judge Green dismissed most of the same charges against Bonam’s co-defendant Lillie Lee Heard, 41, of Van Buren Township at her preliminary exam on May 5. Heard was due for her bench trial on the misdemeanors on Sept. 15, but the case was dismissed, along with Bonam’s because the complaining witness refused to testify.
Caleb Michael Hatfield
The live preliminary exam for Caleb Michael Hatfield, 38, of Garden City and formerly of Sumpter Township was set for Sept. 1 on charges of uttering and publishing and larceny between $1,000 and $20,000 on Oct. 24, 2019 in Van Buren Township. He was having difficulty hooking up to the zoom probable cause conference on July 28, so his presence was waived. He was free on $10,000 personal bond.
On Sept. 1 the case was dismissed without prejudice at the request of the prosecution.
Devin Michael Beach
Devin Michael Beach, 24, of Sumpter Township, did not show up for his probable cause conference July 28 on a charge of assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer in Sumpter Township on July 16 and two drunk driving charges from the Michigan State Police on June 28.
His Neighborhood Defender Service attorney James O’Donnell said he would send investigators out to find him. He said he had sent a letter and made phone calls to his client, but his phone was not working. The probable cause conference was adjourned by Judge Oakley to Sept. 1 and Beach was free on $5,000 personal bond with a tether.
On Sept. 1, Beach was present by zoom from the Wayne County Jail, where he was being held on a tether violation. Defense attorney O’Donnell said on Aug. 4 the magistrate put him on a tether and he would like the tether reinstated. Beach told the judge that Wayne County was told Sumpter Township’s Lt. Toth wanted to talk to Beach and after that they thought he was charged and took off his tether. He said then they picked him up for a tether violation.
Judge Oakley put him on $5,000 personal bond with a GPS tether and set his probable cause conference for Sept. 15.
On Sept. 1 his Michigan State Police charges of operating with a blood content of .17 or more and operating while intoxicated were also set for a zoom pretrial on Sept. 15 with a personal bond of $1,000.
On Sept. 15, the Van Buren Township and MSP cases were adjourned until Sept. 22. On Sept. 22, he said he was retaining counsel to cover all his cases and so his cases were adjourned until Oct. 6.
On Sept. 9, Beach was scheduled for remote pretrials on two blood alcohol content of more than .17 charges, both on July 20, 2020; two operating with any presence of drugs on that same day; and citations for dog at large, dangerous dog misdemeanor, and no dog license, all on June 1, 2021. Those Sumpter cases all were set for remote pretrial on Oct. 14.
On Nov. 17, a final remote pretrial was set for Dec. 8 for the MSP case. He also was arraigned on new charges of fleeing a police officer in a vehicle and driving while license suspended in Sumpter Township on Oct. 5 and that was set for a probable cause conference on Dec. 8.
On. Dec. 8 the preliminary exam on the Oct. 5 charge was set for Jan. 12 with defense attorney O’Donnell. Court attorney Leann Belcher took over all of Beach’s misdemeanor cases and said she would sort through them. The pretrials on them were scheduled for Jan. 5.
On Jan. 5, attorney Belcher was not present and attorney Jeff Bowdich filled in for her and presented a plea deal from the prosecutor. Beach asked to have an adjournment of the cases so he could talk to his attorney of record, Belcher, before making a decision. His three cases were adjourned until Jan. 12.
He was scheduled for a probable cause conference on Oct. 6 and did not appear because he was in custody of Sumpter Township police who arrested him at 9 a.m., Oct. 5. His attorney told Judge Oakley that he couldn’t find him and then his family said he was in custody in Huron County, so he checked. Actually that turned out to be Huron Township, the lockup used by Sumpter police. Beach had been charged with felony resisting and obstruction of a police officer. His attorney asked for a live preliminary exam on the previous charge of assaulting/resisting/obstructing a Sumpter police officer on July 16 and that exam was set for Nov. 17. On that date he waived his exam and was scheduled for his arraignment on the information at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice. His calendar conference has been set for Jan. 26 at circuit court.
Raymundo Leija
Raymundo Leija, 40, of Taylor, had his probable cause conference adjourned until Aug. 18 on charges of receiving and concealing a stolen motor vehicle and allowing an unlicensed driver to drive on April 26 in Van Buren Township. He is free on $2,500 personal bond.
His Neighborhood Defense Service attorney said discovery was still needed. He also said Leija’s wife died and Leija is taking care of the children.
On Aug. 18, NDS defense attorney Cait DeMott Grady made a motion to dismiss the charges because she still has no discovery.
Judge Martin said Leija was arraigned July 28 and a special unit is handling the case. She denied the motion and adjourned the probable cause conference until Sept. 1.
On Sept. 1, Judge Oakley dismissed the charges without prejudice after Grady said she still had no discovery.