After Van Buren Township Police Officer Mark King pulled Timothy Porter over for weaving all over Belleville Road while driving on Oct. 14, 2020, he gave him three roadside sobriety tests, and he failed them all.
Porter is facing the felony charge of operating while intoxicated, third offense.
At Porter’s March 9 preliminary exam before 34th District Court Judge Lisa Martin, Officer King testified he was dispatched to southbound Belleville Road for a reported intoxicated driver that had just had an incident at the Meijer gas station. They got the license plate number of the vehicle.
King testified that he found the car with that license plate number near Harmony Lane and the car was weaving back and forth and nearly struck another vehicle. He turned on his lights for a traffic stop. The driver was slow to respond and finally stopped near Quirk Road approaching the Belleville Bridge.
King testified the driver had no identification. He said the pupils of the driver who turned out to be Porter stayed at pinpoints regardless of the light he shone in his eyes. He reported Porter kept falling asleep when he was doing the roadside tests and when he was talking to him. He said Porter said no to a blood test and then said yes, as shown on King’s body camera. King took Porter to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital for the blood draw and left him there because of the possibility of drugs. He took the blood back to the police department where it was sent to the state police lab.
Defense attorney Andrew Sullivan of Neighborhood Defender Service argued that the body camera showed his client didn’t want the blood test and it should be thrown out and the charge dismissed. He said Porter should have been made to sign to approve the test or they should have gotten a warrant.
King reported the Blood Alcohol Content was .000, no alcohol detected. At the end of the exam, Judge Martin said she listened to King’s testimony and reviewed the Michigan State Police lab report that showed Porter had methamphetamine and fentanyl in his blood.
Judge Martin said Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Jane Gillis met the burden of probable cause with her witness’ testimony, so Judge Martin bound Timothy Allen Porter, 47, of Woodhaven, over to circuit court for a March 23 arraignment on the information.
Alexander Joseph Forsythe
A live preliminary exam for Alexander Joseph Forsythe, 28, of Livonia and formerly of Van Buren Township, has been set at 34th District Court for March 28 on four charges resulting from an incident in Van Buren Township on Feb. 21.
Forsythe is charged with unlawful imprisonment, assaulting / resisting / obstructing a police officer, indecent exposure, and domestic violence.
Wayne County special prosecutor Sona Movsisyan said she expects to have two or three witnesses. Defense attorney Tyrone Bickerdt said his client has no means to post the bond set at his Feb. 23 arraignment of $10,000 cash or surety and remains in the Wayne County Jail. Bickerdt told 34th District Court Judge Lisa Martin at the probable cause conference on March 9 that his client could live with his mother in Livonia if released and would have no contact with his wife, the victim.
Bickerdt said Forsythe was on a new drug for his mental health when the incident took place and he has since stopped taking that medication.
Prosecutor Movsisyan said an off-duty police officer was a witness to the domestic violence and when he tried to intervene to help the victim, the defendant barricaded himself in their home with his wife and child. It took many officers to end the standoff, she said.
She also noted that Forsythe has just pled guilty to domestic violence in another case. Judge Martin agreed that case was pretty fresh but reduced the bond to $10,000 personal bond with tether. He is not to return to his Willow Way address.
Speed Marcell Miller
Speed Marcell Miller, 25, of Romulus, had a probable cause conference set for Dec. 22 on charges of home invasion-first degree and domestic violence on Nov. 24 in Van Buren Township. A live preliminary exam was set for March 9. He was free after posting surety bond of $12,500. He was ordered to have no contact with the victim or an address on N. Bellridge.
On March 9, he was tardy for his exam and Judge Martin had signed a warrant for his arrest, when Miller showed up in the courtroom. The Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor told Judge Martin she was unable to proceed because the complainant failed to appear. Defense attorney Riggins of Neighborhood Defense Service made a motion to dismiss. Judge Martin dismissed the charges and released his bond.
Tedarall Antoine White
Tedarall Antoine White, 44, of Van Buren Township was present before Judge Bronson via zoom Aug. 11 for his preliminary exam on a charge of operating while intoxicated-third offense on June 15, 2020. But that date turned out to be an error and he actually was stopped on Aug. 15, 2020. White’s defense attorney Danien Wood filed a motion saying that the warrant for the blood draw was defective because it had the wrong dates.
Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Alexander Kurrie said the wrong date was filed and it was a harmless error. Van Buren Township Officer Michael Edge, who made the arrest, said the 6 and 8 for the months of June and August could have been misread.
Judge Bronson said the blood draw warrant and affidavit said June and actually it was August and, “Does the wrong date nullify the warrant?” Prosecutor Kurrie said the error was harmless, just a typo, and there was no bad faith.
Judge Bronson denied the motion, noting as a visiting judge he does not have his Michigan Combined Laws or Supreme Court documents available.
Attorney Wood asked the judge if he would grant a stay in the exam to give her time to appeal to circuit court on the matter and Judge Bronson granted the stay.
Van Buren Township Detective Michael Long offered the information that the blood draw date was Aug. 15, 2020, it was submitted to the lab on Aug. 25, and the result came back on Aug. 31. The case was scheduled for review for a jury trial on Sept. 30 and then on Dec. 29. Then the review was set for March 1 and then to May 2.
Michael Todd Roberts
Michael Todd Roberts, 46, of Sumpter Township was virtually arraigned by Judge Martin on Aug. 13 on four counts, along with a habitual offender label, which could bring him twice the maximum sentence.
Roberts is charged with unarmed robbery, possession of a financial transaction device not his own, retaining a financial transaction device without permission, and domestic violence on Aug. 11 in Sumpter Township.
Sumpter police asked for a $5,000/10% bond and no contact with the alleged victim and Judge Green gave him that bond. His probable cause conference was set for Aug. 25 before Judge Oakley by zoom.
On Aug. 25, Judge Oakley set the preliminary exam on the charges for Sept. 14. His defense attorney Kendrick Riggins said his client has been in jail for two weeks because he cannot post bond and he would like a personal bond set.
Prosecutor Elen Rozek objected to the reduction, saying Roberts, who was living with his mother, assaulted his mother and took money and her credit card and now is asking his mother to post his bond.
Riggins said his girlfriend gave his mother his debit card for his bond. He said the mother can be cared for by a sister and Roberts will have no contact with her.
Judge Oakley reduced the bond to $5,000 personal bond and a GPS tether. He must have no contact with his mother. Judge Oakley also closed out three pending civil cases for time served in the jail.
After the preliminary exam on Sept. 14, he was bound over to circuit court for a Sept. 28 arraignment on the information. A calendar conference was set for Oct. 6. Then a final conference was set for Nov. 29 and a pretrial for Jan. 11, reset by the court to Feb. 3. On Feb. 7 he pled guilty to possessing a financial device not his own and larceny from a person and the other charges were dismissed. Sentencing was set for March 23.
Michael Christopher Towshack
Michael Christopher Towshack, 35, of Romulus was scheduled for a live preliminary exam on Aug. 18 in front of Judge Martin, but the exam was delayed beyond its scheduled time and defense attorney Blasé Kearney told Judge Martin he was concerned about being late for two other cases he had at 36th District Court.
The prosecutor, witness and officers were present for the exam, and although Judge Martin was not in favor of adjourning the case, she relented and granted Kearney an adjournment of the live exam until 12:30 p.m., Nov. 3, due to a “court scheduling issue.”
Towshack was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon (felonious assault) and felony firearm on April 17 in Van Buren Township.
On Nov. 3, the only witness in the exam was Jim Foley who testified that vehicles he and Towshack were driving had bumped into each other during a Michigan left at the Ecorse Road / Belleville Road intersection. Foley said when they were stopped at the light heading eastbound on Ecorse, he got out and went to Towshack’s driver’s window and asked if he wanted to go to the police station or wait there for the police to make the report.
Foley testified that Towshack got out of his car with a gun and pointed it at him. He said he got back in his car and called 911. He testified three or four Van Buren police cars arrived. Police asked who had the gun and Towshack raised his hand and was put into handcuffs.
Defense attorney Kearney played a short bit of body cam from Officer McCarthy’s camera in which Towshack said his version of what happened.
Kearney said his client was afraid and told Foley to get back because he didn’t know him. He said everyone knows about road rage incidents that bring gunfire. He said both sides did nothing wrong here.
Judge Martin bound Towshack over to circuit court for a Nov. 17 arraignment on the information. Circuit Court set a pretrial for Feb. 25 which was then adjourned until March 11 at the request of the defense.
Leesha Marie Corum
Leesha Marie Corum, 31, of the City of Belleville, failed to appear for her live preliminary exam before Judge Martin on Aug. 18 and so a bench warrant was put out for her arrest.
She is charged with malicious destruction of personal property between the value of $1,000 to $20,000 on April 7, 2019 in the City of Belleville and was due for her exam. She also was due for her arraignment and pretrial on a misdemeanor charge of malicious destruction of property to a building less than $200 on June 10, 2019 in the city of Belleville.
On Nov. 24, she again failed to appear before Judge Oakley for her arraignment and probable cause conference for receiving and concealing a stolen vehicle on Jan. 9, 2020 in the City of Belleville. A warrant is out for her arrest. She is Thomas John Strunk, Jr.’s co-defendant.
Thomas John Strunk, Jr.
Thomas John Strunk, Jr., 24, of the City of Belleville failed to appear for his Nov. 24 arraignment and probable cause conference on a charge of receiving and concealing a stolen vehicle on Jan. 9, 2020 in the City of Belleville. A warrant was signed for his arrest and he was apprehended in January and his bench warrant arraignment was on Jan. 12 before Judge Oakley. His probable cause conference was set for Jan. 26 and on that date he was present from the Wayne County Jail and waived his preliminary exam. Judge Oakley bound him over to circuit court for a Feb. 2 arraignment on the information. A calendar conference was set for Feb. 22 and he pled guilty to the charge. Sentencing is set for April 11.
At his bench warrant arraignment, Belleville Police Officer Bart Devos said the defendant is homeless and police do not have a good address, email, or phone number for him.
Strunk told the judge that while his address now is in Inkster, the best place to send mail for him is to his grandmother’s address in the City of Belleville. Judge Oakley had set a bond of $10,000/10%, but that was reduced to $5,000 personal bond at circuit court.
James Shelby Najmat Almas Blake
James Shelby Najmat Almas Blake, 45, of Ypsilanti failed to appear for his live preliminary exam before Judge Martin on Aug. 18, so a bench warrant was signed for his arrest.
He had been charged with using a self-defense spray device on June 2 and also malicious destruction of fire or police property and reckless driving on June 16, all in Van Buren Township.
His $10,000 personal bond on the June 16 charges was revoked, as was his $5,000 personal bond on the June 2 charge. His conditional bond had required him not to return to AT&T or Atchinson Ford, both on Belleville Road.
On Nov. 16 he was arraigned on his bench warrant by video while in custody of Van Buren police and a probable cause conference was set for Nov. 24. On that date a preliminary exam was scheduled for Jan. 5.
On that date his attorney William Glenn asked Judge Oakley for a competency referral. He said he had concerns about his client’s ability to assist in his defense, adding, “I don’t believe he knows what’s going on.” Judge Oakley referred Blake for a competency exam by the forensic center in Ypsilanti. Blake said he has PTSD and he is a veteran. He said he is being treated at the VA in Ann Arbor. He became upset and hung up the phone used by Judge Oakley to communicate with him. Glenn said he would contact Blake and explain the competency exam.
The competency exam has been set for March 14.
Gary Steven Priess
Gary Steven Priess, 61, of Ypsilanti had his probable cause conference adjourned until Sept. 1 by zoom because his attorney Stephanie Farkas said he needs electronic discovery. Priess is charged with embezzlement by an agent or trustee between $1,000 and $20,000 on Oct. 21, 2019 in the City of Belleville.
Farkas asked for personal bond because of his client’s age and his residing in Ypsilanti most of his life. She said he retired from Detroit Diesel. Judge Martin set $5,000 personal bond. On Sept. 1 his live preliminary exam was set for Oct. 13.
On Oct. 13, Assistant Prosecutor Alex Kurrie said the People were not ready to proceed but a new witness could testify if the case was adjourned to another date. Farkas objected saying this case was from October-November 2019. Judge Oakley dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled.