10/29/2006

Week in Review

antrim

State to buy 37 acres of forest land

MANCELONA — A state forest in Antrim County is set to expand by about 40 acres.

The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy is poised to sell property on M-66 along the Jordan and Green rivers to the state. The Michigan Natural Resources Commission will consider the $97,000 purchase at its November meeting.

The property, which the conservancy bought for $80,000 in June 2004, is 37 acres of wetlands and cedar forest bordered on two sides by the Mackinaw State Forest.

benzie

Police investigate deadly house fire

FRANKFORT — Benzie County sheriff's officials are investigating the cause of a house fire that killed a 46-year-old Frankfort man.

The owner of the home, Kenneth Earl Parson, died in the fire that broke out at about 9 p.m. Oct. 20 on M-22 just outside Frankfort in Crystal Lake Township.

Ex-reserve officer jailed on stalking charges

BEULAH — A former Traverse City Police reserve officer is in the Benzie County Jail on aggravated stalking charges for allegedly harassing a former girlfriend.

Lyle Sutton, 59, is accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend by calling her hundreds of times a month since they broke up in April 2005, said Tom Whale, a detective with the Benzie County Sheriff's Department.

Traverse City Police Sgt. Brian Heffner said Sutton left the city's reserve police program around 1994.

Sutton has been convicted twice since April 2005 for violating a personal protection order his ex-girlfriend obtained against him, Whale said.

Sutton had been unable to post his $100,000 bond and remained in Benzie County Jail Thursday morning. He could be sentenced to up to five years in prison if convicted.

charlevoix

Son told police his dad confessed, file shows

CHARLEVOIX — A man is in jail on armed robbery charges after his son turned him in.

Danny Lee Russell, 45, was charged Wednesday for a robbery this summer, during which a video store clerk was locked in the trunk of her car.

Charlevoix Police Chief Gerard Doan said police received a "big break" in the case last week.

Doan declined to elaborate, but an affidavit in Russell's district court case file indicates that his son, Daniel Scott Russell, 26, told police his dad confessed to the Aug. 27 holdup at Family Video on U.S. 31 in Charlevoix.

A man with a handgun approached the lone clerk outside the building after she locked up for the evening and forced her into the trunk of her car after she turned over cash and checks from the store, as well as her purse.

The woman was not injured, and police freed her within about 10 minutes of the incident.

cheboygan

Man 'bitter' about sale of land to state

INDIAN RIVER — A 120-acre tract of lush wetlands and upland areas of pine and oak trees in southwestern Cheboygan County may soon become state land, much to the dissatisfaction of the current owner.

Eugene Balogh, of East Jordan, owns the property that sits about four miles south of the town of Indian River and about a mile west of the Sturgeon River. He recently sued the state for legal road access to the wilderness area.

A pending land transaction is a negotiated settlement to the litigation.

State officials tried for years to buy the property, an area surrounded by state forest land in Mentor Township that provides ideal deer and waterfowl habitat.

"We did finally cave in and sell to them. I'm very bitter about it," Balogh said.

The state will pay $120,000 for the land and will cover about $7,000 in fees for withdrawal of the property from the state Commercial Forest Act Program.

Man charged in woman's drug death

CHEBOYGAN — A Presque Isle County man was charged with delivery of drugs causing death for a woman's recent overdose death.

Robert James Pope, 27, of Millersburg, was arraigned Wednesday in 89th District Court in Cheboygan, and his bond was set at $500,000. He remains lodged at Cheboygan County Jail.

Pope allegedly delivered methadone to Denise Tanguis in Cheboygan County. She died of a methadone overdose on April 6, authorities said.

State police investigated the case and Pope is also charged in the alternative with second-degree murder. Both felony charges carry a possible life prison sentence with convictions.

crawford

Weekend crash claims lives of two teens

GRAYLING — John Schneider gathered some Grayling High School baseball jerseys to parcel out to current and former players.

It's a task the coach carried out with a heavy heart after a weekend car crash killed two of his ex-players, Ryan James Davis, 19, and Joshua Leo Mastej, 18.

Former teammates were to wear the jerseys during a combined funeral service Wednesday.

Davis and Mastej died early Oct. 21 in a one-vehicle wreck on Crawford County's White Road, just north of County Road 612 in Maple Forest Township.

A deputy found the vehicle engulfed in flames, the bodies inside, said Sheriff Kirk Wakefield. Davis was the driver and Mastej the passenger.

Authorities believe the teens were speeding, lost control and slammed into a tree. Alcohol is also believed to be a factor in the accident, based on evidence at the scene, Wakefield said.

Emmet

State police command officer gets probation

PETOSKEY — A deferred sentence could mean a clean record for a Michigan State Police command officer accused of domestic violence.

Lt. Aaron Sweeney, commander of the state police post in Petoskey, was fined $500 and ordered to a term of probation with anger management sessions after he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count, Emmet District Court records show.

Judge Richard May signed the order Oct. 11. If after six months Sweeney has not violated any probation terms, no conviction will be entered in the public record.

Sweeney, 41, was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence after an incident with his wife at the couple's Little Traverse Township home.

grand traverse

TC man suspected in string of car thefts

TRAVERSE CITY — A Traverse City man faces felony charges for allegedly stealing electronics and cash from at least 25 vehicles over the summer.

Joseph Daniel Russell, 28, could face up to five years in prison for allegedly stealing $5,000 worth of items including cameras, iPods and cash in a crime spree that lasted from April 13 until Sept. 8, court documents show.

City police arrested Russell and another man early Sept. 8 for allegedly breaking into vehicles in Traverse City's Huron Hills area. Russell was charged with a misdemeanor and released on bond following the September incident, but was arrested again Monday after detectives allegedly connected him to at least 25 other burglaries.

Russell allegedly conducted the thefts at night from unlocked vehicles on the city's east and west sides and in Garfield Township, police said.

Kingsley man arrested for home break-in

KINGSLEY — State police arrested a Kingsley man after he allegedly tried to break into a home while the owners watched from inside.

The man, 35, allegedly beat on the doors and windows of a house on East Sparling Road in Kingsley before he broke into the garage and attempted to get inside, state police said.

"He was very incoherent and acting in a rage," said Trooper David Prichard of the Traverse City post.

Prichard said the suspect was passed out in the homeowner's vehicle when police arrived. He was arrested on an unrelated child support warrant and first-degree home invasion charges.

Police believe drugs were a factor. The man faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Woman in coma after fall from vehicle

GRAWN — A Northport woman remains unconscious at Munson Medical Center after she either jumped or fell from a moving vehicle during an argument with her boyfriend.

Tammy Lynne Loveland, 36, was listed in critical condition and remained unconscious Monday following an Oct. 21 incident outside the Traverse Region Conservation Club on Norton Road, sheriff's and hospital officials said.

Witnesses allegedly heard Loveland and her boyfriend, Stephen Grant McCurry, 35, arguing loudly near a vehicle outside a wedding reception they attended at the club, said Grand Traverse County Sheriff Scott Fewins.

The couple then got in a vehicle and witnesses heard it speed west on Norton Road, Fewins said. Witnesses said the vehicle's dome light remained on and they heard only one door close as the couple left, Fewins said.

McCurry was arrested for suspicion of drunken driving and taken to the Grand Traverse County Jail. McCurry allegedly told police Loveland jumped out of the moving vehicle, Fewins said.

Trooper who fled from crash transfers

TRAVERSE CITY — A Michigan State Police trooper who crashed his vehicle after a night of drinking, then ran from the scene and reported the vehicle stolen is on the job in a new community.

Trooper David Meder, 46, was transferred to South Haven, a tourist community on Lake Michigan's southwest shore. He was suspended from duty for 10 days and ordered to undergo an alcohol assessment.

The transfer was effective Oct. 8. The punishment also banned Meder from the Traverse City post for three years, according to documents obtained by the Record-Eagle through the state Freedom of Information Act.

Meder, of Traverse City, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors for failing to report the May 18 crash and was sentenced June 19 to serve six months probation and pay more than $6,000 in restitution. He was not charged with any alcohol-related offences or for falsely reporting a vehicle theft to his insurance company.

The job sanctions against Meder resulted from a labor settlement agreement after the state police conducted an internal investigation.

DDA revises 'long-term' parking policy

TRAVERSE CITY — City parking deck users may continue to store cars at the State Street ramp, so long as the vehicles are operable and licensed.

The Downtown Development Authority board recently approved a revised parking policy that allows "long-term" stays, said Gil Rupp, auto parking administrator. The storage fee is the same as permit parking: $45 a month; $100 for three months; or $360 for a year.

Rupp said four cars are stored in the deck.

City Commissioner Deni Scrudato suggested the city require parked vehicles to be operable and licensed after she discovered Rupp's car stored in the deck with an outdated license plate and a flat tire.

Woman in court in embezzlement case

TRAVERSE CITY — An Alden woman who lost thousands of dollars at several state casinos was bound over to circuit court for allegedly embezzling money from a vulnerable adult.

Paula J. Oeder, 55, a registered player at Grand Traverse Resort and Casinos, Bay Mills Resort and Casino and Kewadin Casinos, gambled away over $20,000 between October 2005 and May 2006 — the same time that she allegedly stole from a local elderly woman who suffers from dementia, records show.

Oeder was charged with embezzlement after the son of the 77-year-old victim told police someone drained an account set up to pay for his mother's expenses. Oeder faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

leelanau

McDonald's restaurant closes in Greilickville

TRAVERSE CITY — A rural vacation spot like Leelanau County wasn't the right location for a fast-food chain, some folks said when McDonald's opened in Greilickville a decade ago.

Turns out they were right.

Leelanau's first fast-food restaurant closed last Sunday when Marks Management of Traverse City shuttered the McDonald's at 13110 S. West Bay Shore Drive, apparently because of slow business at the branch of the world's number one fast-food chain.

The restaurant was built in 1996 following months of review and debate by the Elmwood Township Planning Commission. Hundreds of Leelanau County residents signed petitions opposed to the restaurant, concerned that it didn't fit with the county's rural character.

manistee

Arson fires under investigation

MANISTEE — Manistee police are investigating a string of arson fires in vehicles and a home in the city.

Officers responded just after midnight Oct. 21 to a vehicle fire and learned that the suspect, a man in his 20s, had set fires after an argument at the residence. Two vehicles were set on fire, and one was destroyed. Several fires the suspect set inside the home had been extinguished.

The suspect left the scene and broke into a nearby business, where he unsuccessfully attempted to light a fire before authorities apprehended him.

otsego

Police recover stolen property, arrest teen

VANDERBILT — Police recovered about $20,000 in stolen property that's allegedly tied to three breaking and entering cases in Vanderbilt.

State police arrested Gerald Meirthew, 17, of Vanderbilt, on three counts of breaking and entering a residence. Officials said an arrest of a 19-year-old Vanderbilt man is expected as the investigation continues.

Several dirt bikes, a four-wheeler ATV, tools, clothing and other items were allegedly stashed in various places around Otsego County.

Contamination found in Elmira Township wells

ELMIRA — Families in one Otsego County neighborhood are told not to drink the water, especially infants and young children.

Trouble is, nobody knows why high levels of nitrate contamination recently were found in eight residential water wells on South Camp Ten Road in Elmira Township. Residents want swift answers from local and state officials, and while they wait, those who can afford to must drink bottled water.

Bill Lubs, Otsego County environmental health supervisor for Northwest Michigan Community Health Agency, said the contamination in Elmira Township currently can't be attributed to any illnesses in the area. However, the health department warned residents not to give the water to children, he said.