MICHIGAN GOVERNOR-KIDNAPPING PLOT
4 in Gov. Whitmer kidnap trial to decide whether to testify
The trial of four men accused of planning to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has shifted to the defense. The men must decide whether they will testify in their own defense as the trial moves toward the finish line Thursday. Prosecutors finished presenting evidence Wednesday, the 13th day of the case in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Daniel Harris, Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., and Brandon Caserta are charged with conspiring to kidnap Whitmer at her vacation home in fall 2020 in response to tough COVID-19 restrictions and disgust with government. Defense attorneys claim the group was engaged in a lot of crazy talk but no conspiracy.
MICHIGAN GOVERNOR-KIDNAPPING PLOT-EXPLAINER-ENTRAPMENT
EXPLAINER: What is entrapment’s role at kidnap plot trial?
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — The core question at the trial of four men charged with plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is whether the FBI engaged in entrapment. That’s the prohibited practice of cajoling or tricking subjects into committing crimes. An entrapment defense exists as a check on overzealous investigators seeking to create crimes by trapping credulous, desperate subjects. Defense lawyers at the kidnapping-plot trial have portrayed their clients as big-talking, pot-smoking weekend warriors, susceptible to manipulation by FBI undercover agents and informants. Prosecutors say the defendants had already broached the idea of kidnapping Whitmer and other schemes before they came into contact with the FBI.
XGR-INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING
Michigan Gov. Whitmer signs over $4.7B for infrastructure
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Fixing dams and roads in Michigan is the goal under a newly signed infrastructure spending plan. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the more than $4.7 billion plan Wednesday in Grand Rapids. It includes about $4 billion from federal funds and will be used to improve drinking water infrastructure, create and maintain parks, and to fix roads, bridges and dams. After the hit to the economy of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government hopes improving infrastructure will boost tourism and recreation, and move the economy forward. The spending plan includes more than $2 billion to be invested in clean drinking water, wastewater and other water infrastructure projects.
GAS STATION-ABDUCTION
Judge: Van owned by convicted killer of 2 will be destroyed
MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) — A judge has ruled that a minivan owned by a man serving life sentences for the slayings of two women in western Michigan will be destroyed. The Muskegon Chronicle reports that a Muskegon County judge ruled March 25 in favor of prosecutors’ motion to allow authorities to destroy the Dodge Grand Caravan, which played a role in Jeffrey Willis’ crimes in the Muskegon area. The 52-year-old Willis is serving life without parole after being convicted of killing Rebekah Bletsch as she jogged along a rural road in 2014. He also was convicted of killing a gas station clerk who disappeared in 2013. Jessica Heeringa’s body still hasn’t been found.
DIVISION 2 ALL-STATE GIRLS
Detroit Edison’s Whitehorn AP Division 2 girls top player
DETROIT (AP) — Ruby Whitehorn headlines The Associated Press all-state team as the Division 2 player of the year in voting by a panel of sportswriters throughout the state. The 6-foot senior handles the ball like a point guard, drives to the basket like a small forward, knocks down the 3 like a shooting guard and scores in the post, reasons she earned the title of Miss Basketball in Michigan as well. Whitehorn averaged 24 points, 12.2 rebounds, 4.5 steals and four assists to lead Detroit Edison to the state championship. Joe Jacobs of Frankenmuth was voted Division 2 coach of the year after going unbeaten in the Tri-Valley Conference East Division.
LAKE RESCUE-MICHIGAN
Boy dies, woman hospitalized after being pulled from lake
MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A 4-year-old boy has died after he and a 33-year-old woman were pulled from a frigid Lansing-area lake. Meridian Township police say officers and firefighters were called to Lake Lansing about 9 a.m. Tuesday and saw the two in the water. The boy and woman were pulled from the lake. The boy was unresponsive and not breathing. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. Police said the woman was being treated Tuesday afternoon at the hospital. Police did not release their relationship. A kayak was found in the area of the rescue.
TROOPER SUSPENDED
Michigan trooper suspended for using force during stop
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan State Police trooper has been suspended after he allegedly used force during a traffic stop in Saginaw. The agency said in a news release that the trooper assigned to the Tri-City post in Freeland had pulled over a driver suspected of operating while under the influence Monday night. The news release Tuesday says “the MSP’s Professional Standards Section immediately began an internal investigation after becoming aware of citizen videos, which appear to show the trooper striking the face of the handcuffed suspect, circulating on social media.”
TREE-TRIMMING DEATH
Tree-trimmer falls 60 feet to his death in western Michigan
CLAYBANKS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State Police say a commercial tree-trimmer has died after falling 60 feet to 70 feet (18.3 to 21.3 meters) feet from a tree. The man died at the scene in Claybanks Township west of Rothbury. The fall occurred around 12:45 p.m. Tuesday. The 60-year-old man was from the Ovid area northeast of Lansing. Police haven’t released his name. The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the death.
MICHIGAN GOVERNOR-KIDNAPPING PLOT
Violence for ‘tyrants’ urged in Gov. Whitmer kidnap trial
Jurors have seen chilling social media posts written by two people charged in a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor. They include a photo of a noose and a question: Which governor is going to be “dragged off and hung for treason first?” Another man expressed a willingness to die. Prosecutors are close to finishing their case in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They’re trying to show that four men charged with conspiring to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 were committed to a plan without influence by informants or undercover agents. Barry Croft Jr., a trucker from Bear, Delaware, regularly vented on Facebook about public officials while they were issuing stay-home orders and other restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MICHIGAN
State to report COVID-19 data once per week as cases decline
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The state plans to begin reporting Michigan’s COVID-19 data once per week as the numbers of cases and deaths decline. Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services says its online COVID-19 dashboard will be updated only on Wednesdays. Currently, data is posted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but that changes starting Monday. Michigan has reported more than 2 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 32,758 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Between Saturday and Monday, 1,258 newly confirmed cases and six deaths were reported.
The Associated Press
