FOUR KILLED
Woman, 3 young children found shot to death in Michigan
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Police say a woman and three young children were found shot to death in a home in central Michigan. The Mecosta County Sheriff’s Office says the woman and three children under the age of 10 were found dead Friday afternoon in a home south of Big Rapids. Sheriff Brian Miller says a man also was found with a gunshot wound to the head. He was being treated at a hospital in Grand Rapids. Miller says deputies went to the home on a report of a man with a gun and shots fired. Miller says there’s no additional threat to the community.
ELECTION 2022-MICHIGAN GOVERNOR
Republicans kept off Michigan ballot turn to the courts
DETROIT (AP) — A Michigan business owner has filed a lawsuit to try to get on Michigan’s August primary ballot. It’s the first of many likely legal challenges after five Republican candidates for governor were barred because of a lack of valid petition signatures. Perry Johnson is asking the state appeals court to order the Board of State Canvassers to put him on the ballot. Former Detroit police Chief James Craig also plans to turn to court. The state elections bureau said their petitions were rife with fraudulent names and signatures created by paid circulators, bringing Johnson and Craig below the 15,000-signature threshold needed to run in the primary. Johnson says the elections did not examine every line of the petitions. The appeals court is expected to make a decision next week.
SHOTS FIRED-DETROIT POLICE
Man accused of shooting at Detroit police officers arraigned
DETROIT (AP) — An 18-year-old man has been charged with assault with intent to murder after shots were fired at two Detroit police officers who were attempting to stop the vehicle he allegedly was riding in. The Wayne County prosecutor’s office says Deontay Hestle Jr. also faces weapons and fleeing and eluding charges. The prosecutor’s office said police tried to make a traffic stop about 4 a.m. Saturday on the city’s westside after officers saw a man sitting on the door sill as the vehicle passed them. Shots were fired by the man as the vehicle sped away. Hestle and the accused driver were arrested Tuesday and arraigned Friday.
GYM-DOCTOR-SEXUAL ABUSE-FBI
No charges for agents in botched Larry Nassar probe
DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department says it won’t pursue criminal charges against former FBI agents who failed to quickly open an investigation of sports doctor Larry Nassar. Agents knew in 2015 that Nassar was accused of sexually assaulting female gymnasts. Nassar wasn’t arrested until 2016. The Office of Inspector General found that two former agents likely provided “inaccurate or incomplete information” when investigators subsequently tried to understand what happened. But the Justice Department says more would be needed to file charges. Nassar was a Michigan State University sports doctor as well as a doctor at USA Gymnastics. He is serving decades in prison for assaulting female athletes and possessing child pornography.
MICHIGAN MAN SLAIN-MUTILATED
Fall trial set for Michigan man in 2019 killing, mutilation
CORUNNA, Mich. (AP) — A judge has set an October trial date for a Michigan man charged in the 2019 killing of a man whose mutilated body was found hanging from the ceiling of a home. The Flint Journal reports that a Shiawassee County judge scheduled Mark Latunski’s jury trial to begin Oct. 18 on charges of open murder and mutilation of a body. Latunski allegedly killed 25-year-old Kevin Bacon in December 2019 and mutilated his body, which was found hanging from the ceiling of Latunski’s home in Bennington Township, 90 miles northwest of Detroit. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
BC-HKN-RED-WINGS-KONSTANTINOV’S-CARE
New law puts NHL great Konstantinov’s 24/7 care in jeopardy
WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) — Former Detroit Red Wings star Vladimir Konstantinov is in danger of losing the round-the-clock medical care he has had since he nearly died in a 1997 limousine crash while celebrating the team’s championship. The disabled former defenseman is the public face of a predicament facing roughly 18,000 Michigan residents who suffered serious traffic injuries. Because of a bipartisan law that took effect last summer, they have lost their state-funded, unlimited lifetime medical care that every Michigan driver used to have to pay into by law. Although the change to the law helped lower Michigan car insurance rates, which had been the nation’s highest, it has left Konstantinov and others who relied on it with worse options.
MIDTOWN DETROIT FIRE
Blaze destroys landmark restaurant in Detroit’s Midtown
DETROIT (AP) — Fire has destroyed a landmark restaurant and brewpub in Midtown Detroit, but spared the neighboring Third Man Records store owned by musician Jack White as well as Shinola’s flagship watch store. Fire officials say no one was inside Traffic Jam & Snug at the time of the early Friday blaze and the restaurant was believed to be a total loss. No injuries were reported and the cause wasn’t immediately known. White, who was born in Detroit and founded The White Stripes, wrote on Instagram that “his heart and support goes out to them and their workers for this loss.” The blaze did not spread to the record store, the Shinola store or other nearby businesses.
MCDONALD’S SHOOTING-KALAMAZOO
1 person shot, 1 in custody in Kalamazoo McDonald’s shooting
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Police say one person has been shot and one person is in custody following a shooting at a McDonald’s in Kalamazoo. Lt. Lakisha McMillan of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety confirms one person was shot and one person was in custody Thursday night, but could not immediately provide any details of the shooting or the two persons who were involved. She says the department planned to issue a news release on the incident later Thursday. She says initial reports of an active shooter were incorrect.
ELECTION 2022-MICHIGAN-GOVERNOR
Michigan GOP governor hopefuls off ballot, court fight next
Two of the leading candidates for the GOP nomination for Michigan governor will ask the courts to intervene after they were found ineligible for the August primary. Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who has led in primary polling, and businessman Perry Johnson, along with three other lesser-known candidates, did not qualify for the ballot. Craig called Thursday’s party-line decision by the bipartisan Board of State Canvassers a “travesty” and said he will file an immediate appeal in court. The state elections bureau said Monday it found thousands of forged or fraudulent signatures on petitions the candidates submitted. The board’s vote Thursday reshapes the race to take on Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the battleground state this fall.
TEXAS-SCHOOL SHOOTING-MICHIGAN
Oxford students walk out to support Robb school in Texas
OXFORD, Mich. (AP) — Hundreds of students at Oxford High School in Michigan walked out to show their support for students and families in Uvalde, Texas. Four Oxford students were killed in a school shooting last November. Many students walked to the Oxford football field and formed the letter ‘U’ for Uvalde. Andrew Sholtz says Oxford went through the same thing. He says he lost friends. Oxford school officials knew a walkout was planned and worked to ensure students would be safe. Spokeswoman Danielle Stublensky says, “Our hearts are with Uvalde.” A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder in the Oxford school shooting. His parents have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. Nineteen kids were killed in Texas.
The Associated Press
