Court Watching: Two men bound over for Sumpter roller rink stabbing, armed robbery

Co-defendants Robert Kristopher Stilson and Santino Dominick Deleon were bound over to circuit court on March 30 for arraignments on the information on charges from the same incident in Sumpter Township.
They were both charged with assault with intent to commit murder, assault with intent to do harm less than murder, armed robbery, and felony assault in the Halloween 2014 incident at a party at the roller rink in Sumpter Township.
Deleon, 24, a habitual offender from Saginaw, was brought to 34th District Court for his preliminary exam on March 23 from the Saginaw County Jail where he is being held on separate charges. He is represented by retained attorney Rodney O’Farrell.
Stilson, 26, was brought from the Wayne County Jail, where he was being held on $500,000/10% bond. His retained attorney is Sheldon Halpern, who went to Circuit Court Judge Timothy Kenny in Detroit to get his client’s bond reduced.
Chief 34th District Court Judge Tina Brooks Green said she had not heard of Judge Kenny’s reduction of Stilson’s bond until a few hours earlier. Halpern had been seeking a reduction of bond for Stilson, unsuccessfully, at the district court since his client was jailed.
At the preliminary exam before Judge Green, Halpern wanted an adjournment of the preliminary exam because he said was unprepared for the exam. He said Sumpter Police had given him so much evidence that he couldn’t get through it all.
“It’s been adjourned, adjourned, adjourned, adjourned,” said Judge Green. “How long should you be afforded for the purposes of this exam? Two weeks ago you got discovery.”
Judge Green asked co-counsel O’Farrell if he was ready and he said he had already had the probable cause conference moved two weeks and he got his discovery package from Sumpter a week ago. He said he was ready to proceed.
“This is for probable cause [for the preliminary exam], not a trial. We’ve got to try to get this case moving. This case is old.”
Halpern persisted. He said in addition to the discovery itself, he has prior testimony of witnesses at a previous trial to read and he needs time for that.
“You can discredit witnesses at trial,” Judge Green said, referring to the next step at circuit court.
Halpern persisted, saying police gave him three discs and that’s three to four hours of viewing. It includes conversations, the chase, and other things.
Sumpter Det. John Toth said he gave the discovery items to Halpern. Det. Toth said Halpern said he had been on vacation.
“I cannot proceed,” Halpern stood to state to the court.
“Have a seat. We’re proceeding,” Judge Green said and Halpern replied he is asking for a postponement in the interests of justice. Judge Green told him he could appeal her decision.
First witness was Christopher Michael Johnson, who was part of the security team for an icebreaker special event at the rink. He testified how he was advised that someone was smoking a cigar inside the club and he approached that person and gave him a warning because smoking inside was not allowed.
Then, he said he was advised the person was smoking again. Johnson said he asked the person to walk to the front of the building, where he planned to advise him to put it out or go outside and smoke.
Johnson testified Ralph Rosas told him to get off his homeboy and the smoker — described as “a short Hispanic guy with glasses” — punched him and then he punched the smoker. Johnson said his boss told him to go outside and he was there two to five minutes when Deleon burst through the door with a knife, yelling, “I’m going to f—— kill you.” He said Deleon was followed by Stilson. Johnson identified the two co-defendants in the courtroom.
“I started running and Deleon was chasing me,” Johnson said, adding he was in the front parking lot area and then ran down the line of parked cars. He said Deleon jumped up on the line of cars and chased him until he came to a fence and then he had to run back because there was nowhere else to go.
He said he was running until his security team could help him, but they didn’t help him.
“I was running for my life,” he said. He said Rosas and Deleon were chasing him, but not Stilson.
Johnson said he was running toward the front of the club, toward Deleon and Rosas and he ran between them with his arms up in the air trying to avoid the knife. He thought, at first, that Deleon had punched him, but he saw the blood and pulled up his clothing to see 18 inches of his intestine hanging out of his body over his pants.
He ran through the field toward the gas station with blood running down. He jumped a fence at the gas station and hid in somebody’s back yard until his friend came in his car and he got in his friend’s car. They went to the rink and, “I went to the first officer I saw. I went straight up and showed him what happened.”
“Was Stilson with Deleon and Rosas?” the prosecutor asked. “Absolutely,” Johnson replied.
Johnson said he was in the hospital for three days and had surgeries. In cross examination he said there were 300 people at the rink that night and eight security people. Johnson said two were stationed outdoors and he was a “rover.”
Three other witnesses testified — Christopher Johnson, Anthony Jones, Daniel Gilliam, and Officer Salajan — and then Judge Green bound over Stilson and Deleon to the higher court for trial.
Deleon was bound over on all the charges against him and Stilson was bound over on just assault with intent to do murder and assault with intent to do harm less than murder.
The third codefendant in the Sumpter roller rink case was Ralph Rosas, 29, also of Saginaw, who last summer was convicted by a Wayne County jury of assault to do great bodily harm less than murder and armed robbery. He was found not guilty of assault with intent to commit murder and the felonious assault charge was dismissed.
Rosas now is serving 18.75 to 50 years in prison, currently in the St. Louis, MI, correctional facility. He is appealing his conviction.
John Curtis Robertson
John Curtis Robertson, 24, has been charged with unauthorized driving away of a motor vehicle, receiving and concealing the vehicle, assault on a police officer, and obstruction by disguise on March 3. He is being held in the Wayne County Jail on $40,000/10% bond.
Robertson was scheduled to have his preliminary exam March 23 before Judge Green, but the prosecutor asked for an adjournment until 10 a.m., March 30, in order to get a necessary witness and Judge Green approved that request.
The incident started out in Sumpter Township where Robertson worked at an establishment. He is accused of stealing a car from a coworker and driving off with it. Police said he ended up in a ditch in Van Buren Township where he ran off and struggled with police and gave a false name as identification.
VBT Police Lt. Charles Bazzy said the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office combined the Sumpter and VBT offenses into one set for the prosecution.
Dakota Christian Grinage
Dakota Christian Grinage, 22, is lodged in the Wayne County Jail on a $25,000/10% bond. He was scheduled for his preliminary exam before Judge Green on March 23 on two misdemeanor charges of aggravated domestic assault and one felony charge of assault on a police officer in VBT that occurred March 5.
He waived that preliminary exam and was bound over to circuit court for his arraignment on the information on March 30. He was represented by court appointed attorney David Lankford.
Sharitta Marie Givens
Sean Lee Wells
Co-defendants on first-degree home invasion charges on Feb. 16 in Van Buren Township are Sharitta Marie Givens and Sean Lee Wells. They are scheduled for their preliminary exams before Judge David Parrott on March 30.
Givens, 34, posted her $5,000/10% bond and hired attorney Christopher Quinn. Wells, 42, remained lodged on $10,000/10% bond. He is being represented by retained attorney Kirsten Iverson, but another attorney stood in for her at a probable cause conference on March 23.
A request was made to lower his bond from $10,000 to $5,000, but Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Lukiewski objected saying Wells and his co-defendant were wearing masks and brandishing tire irons. He said there was a confrontation and Wells raised the tire iron. He said he believed Wells was very dangerous. Judge Green left the bond as it was.
Patricia Marie Bowler
Patricia Marie Bowler, 25, took a plea deal on her felony charge of possession of analogues. She pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of use of a controlled substance and Judge Green gave her one year of deferred sentence and a fine of $1,000 plus costs.
Bowler told Judge Green she had been using a controlled substance in VBT on Aug. 12, 2015. She said she had been addicted to OxyContin in the past.
Jaquette Ravae Faulks
Jaquette Ravae Faulks, 24, faces charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, malicious destruction of property more than $200 but less than $1,000, and driving while license suspended on March 9 in VBT. She was out after posting bond of $3,000/10%.
Her probable cause conference was March 23 and she is scheduled for her preliminary exam on March 30.