Latest news with #WashtenawCountySheriff'sOffice
CBS News
25-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Michigan AG Nessel provides details on raid in three Southeast Michigan communities
Michigan officials say search warrants that were carried out this week in multiple Southeast Michigan communities were related to vandalism that occurred at 12 locations over the last year. Attorney General Dana Nessel's office confirmed that five search warrants, authorized by the 45th District Court, were executed at homes in Ann Arbor, Canton and Ypsilanti. Investigators forcibly breached one house to gain entry. Officials estimate that the cost of damage is $100,000. Officials say no one was arrested and no charges were filed. According to the AG's office, the warrants stemmed from an investigation of vandalism that occurred at the following locations: Knollwood Country Club in West Bloomfield (Feb. 15, 2024) Goodman Acker Law Firm in Southfield (June 3, 2024) Rolls Royce Solutions America Inc. in Novi (June 30, 2024) Maersk in Romulus (July 8, 2024) Home of the University of Michigan's chief investment officer, Erik Lundberg (Oct. 7, 2024) Home of University of Michigan President Santa Ono (Oct. 7, 2024) Jewish Federation of Detroit in Bloomfield Hills (Nov. 27, 2024) Home of a law enforcement officer in Ann Arbor (Nov. 27, 2024) Home of University of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker (Dec. 9, 2024) Home of University of Michigan Provost Laurie McCauley (March 15, 2025) Raymond James office in Plymouth (March 19, 2025) Historic Jack Wilcox House in Plymouth (March 29, 2025) TAHRIR Coalition, a group that was central to Gaza War divestment protests on the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus, claims these raids targeted pro-Palestinian protesters. The AG's office says the searches were unrelated to protests or encampments on U of M's campus. The AG's office confirmed federal, state and local law enforcement agencies were involved in this operation, but U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement wasn't one of them. Four people were put in handcuffs at their home in Ypsilanti, but the Nessel's office says law enforcement released them within 15 minutes and never arrested them. Commander H. Eugene Rush with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office issued a statement on Thursday: "On Wednesday, April 23, 2025, several search warrants were conducted due to the ongoing criminal investigations by the Attorney General's Office. Immigration enforcement was not involved nor was the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office. We cannot provide more details at this time as this matter is being handled by the Attorney General's Office and we respectfully ask all questions and inquires be directed there."
CBS News
20-03-2025
- CBS News
Authorities investigating possible lead in 1990 disappearance of Michigan woman
The Livingston County Sheriff's Office says it is connecting with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office in hopes of solving the disappearance of Michigan woman Paige Renkoski, who was last seen nearly 35 years ago. "We recently learned of the arrest of a suspect in a cold case in Washtenaw County. We have been in touch with them to learn about their case. As with any investigation, we will follow the tips and evidence. It is way too early to comment further," Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy said in an emailed statement to CBS News Detroit. Renkoski, who lived in the Lansing area, was 30 years old when she was last seen on May 24, 1990. According to the sheriff's office, Renkoski drove her mother to the Detroit Metro Airport before visiting a friend in Canton Township. Authorities say she left her friend's home at about 2 p.m. that day. Her silver two-door Oldsmobile was found hours later, at about 7:48 p.m., on westbound Interstate 96 in Fowlerville, Michigan. The vehicle was running, and the windshield wipers were on due to a storm. According to the sheriff's office, Renkoski's shoes and purse were inside the vehicle. Her body has not been found. Anyone with information on the case can call 517-540-7880 or email coldcasetips@
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators arrested at U-M appear in court on felony charges
Seven pro-Palestinian demonstrators who were arrested last year on the University of Michigan campus faced a judge Wednesday in Ann Arbor. The case tests the boundaries between constitutionally protected free speech and public order. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged them in September with resisting and obstructing police, a felony punishable by up to two years in prison as well as misdemeanor assault charges. She said they used "physical force to counter" the police officers who were trying to clear them from an encampment they had established on the diag. The defendants in the cases are: Oliver Kozler, Samantha Lewis, Henry MacKeen-Shapiro, Michael Mueller, Asad Siddiqui, Avi Tachna-Fram and Rhiannon Willow. Kozler is a student at the school but it's unclear how many other defendants are or were. All seven have pleaded not guilty. Fire Marshal Andrew Box testified that beginning in April, protesters began erecting tents on the diag, surrounding them with a perimeter of rope with tarps or bedsheets draped over it. Later that perimeter was beefed up to include chicken wire staked into the ground. He noted several fire concerns including tents and tarps he described as made from highly combustible materials. He said he spotted a can of gasoline sitting in direct sunlight near a generator and little room for egress. David Marshall, director of university safety and security services, testified that he had visited the encampment on the diag repeatedly in May to meet with protesters and alert them they were in violation of the law. On either May 18 or 19, he couldn't remember precisely, Marshall said he was in a Zoom meeting with his boss, Robert Neumann; University President Santa Ono, and the Board of Regents of the university to discuss how to address the encampment. "I was to prepare a plan, to as safely as possible ... remove the tents and the people safely from the diag," he said. "The group was in consensus to have this done. They wanted to have the division of public safety to do it. I didn't hear any objection." Marshall said the meeting established a window of time for the operation to clear the encampment. The decision was made to do it at 5:40 a.m. May 21. About 100 law enforcement officers from the university, the city of Ann Arbor, the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office and the Michigan State Police prepared to clear the encampment. Marshall said that he was in charge of the operation and used a megaphone to read an order of dispersal to the protesters. Moments later, the protesters began fortifying the encampment with logs, cinder blocks, tables and other items, he said. That's when, Marshall said, he gave the officers the order to move forward toward the protesters. The individual officers who were named in the complaints as having been resisted or obstructed by the protesters were expected to testify later Wednesday afternoon. Before the hearing, the defendants entered the courtroom as a group. Some of them wore keffiyehs, as did some members of the court gallery and one of the defense attorneys, Amir Maklid. Some of the defense attorneys also wore Palestinian flag lapel pins. Five Washtenaw County sheriff's deputies lined the courtroom enforcing the capacity limit of 55 people and instructed visitors to remove their hats. Additional members of the gallery were gathered in the hallway outside. By lunch time, two signs were placed in a courthouse window near the lobby reading "Drop the charges divest now" and "Dana Nessel drop the charges." The case is one of several court cases related to protests over the war in Gaza. Because these defendants face felony charges, they were entitled to a preliminary examination, a hearing before District Court Judge Cedrick Simpson to determine if there is enough evidence to send them to trial in circuit court. The defendants all appeared at the same hearing, with their attorneys taking turns questioning prosecution witnesses. In December, six members of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, (SAFE) a Palestinian solidarity group on campus, sued the university, claiming it violated their constitutional rights by selectively targeting peaceful pro-Palestinian demonstrators for their beliefs and subjecting them to disciplinary proceedings and suspensions. Earlier this month, five more people sued U-M claiming the school violated their rights by effectively banning them from campus with overly broad trespassing citations. Kozler, one of defendants in today's hearing, is one of the plaintiffs in that case. Both of those lawsuits are pending in federal court. Contact John Wisely: jwisely@ On X @jwisely This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pro-Palestinian demonstrators arrested at U-M appear in court
