Free Republic

One of Michigan’s wealthiest counties, which voted heavily for Joe Biden in 2020, has become the target of organized migrant gangs of home invaders, according to the county sheriff. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard is warning residents that the gangs of illegals are targeting high-end homes, especially of those who are out of town on spring breakvacations, according to WXYZ-TV Detroit. This is not the first time the area has been beset by a spree of home invasions by migrants. A similar wave of break-ins occurred last spring and Bouchard’s office launched a special task force that netted several arrests....

40-year-old Michigan man who was known for his vigilante work that exposed child predators was shot to death on Friday night in Detroit. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office (OCSO) says that Robert Lee of Pontiac was at Universal Coney Island that night confronting a person he believed was a pedophile at a restaurant, WJBK reports. Lee often used social media to pose as underage girls in an effort to expose and catch pedophiles, according to the Detroit News. He went by the name “Boopac Shakur” on Facebook and has more than 11,000 followers on the platform. The man Lee accused...

We are learning more about the suspects wanted in several high-end burglaries across Oakland County. In some cases – hundreds of thousands of dollars in valuables are gone, and it’s believed an international crime ring is behind it all, so-called crime tourists. "If you see something, say something," said Sheriff Michael Bouchard, calling on residents to look for anything out of the ordinary. He says that transnational gangs are coming primarily from South America targeting wealthy communities in the US. Bouchard said they are casing and targeting high-end residences, grabbing cash, jewelry, watches, precious metals, high-end purses, and electronics. "We...

A handwritten document found stuffed in Aretha Franklin’s couch cushions is at the crux of a dispute over her multi-million dollar estate — with a Michigan jury seated Monday in the case tasked with deciding whether it’s a valid will. The panel was chosen to oversee the Oakland County Probate trial between the Queen of Soul’s sons Kecalf and Edward Franklin — who believe the 2014 document is valid — and their brother, Ted White II, aka Teddy Richards, who wants a handwritten from 2010 to be honored instead. Both documents were found in the “Respect” singer’s suburban Detroit home...

Suburban Detroit teacher Johnna Rhone was charged Monday with making a false threat against Jefferson Middle School, which is where she works. Rhone, 59 wrote a minimum of three notes with threatening language at the school in St. Clair Shores, said Macomb County prosecutor Pete Lucido. Lucido said one of the notes said: "Start break early. He's gonna do it. Just don't be in the hall after lunch. Boom! Get it?"... ...Rhone is the latest to be charged regarding threats against schools. Since the Oxford High School Shooting, there have been 73 people charged in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb Counties...

New details have emerged about the days and hours leading up to a deadly shooting at a Michigan high school. Officials said on the day of the shooting, the parents of suspect Ethan Crumbley, came to the school to meet with teachers about multiple behavioral problems the 15-year-old had. According to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, two separate teachers brought up concerns over Crumbley’s behavior in the classroom. This occured once on Monday and again on Tuesday, which was the day of the massacre. “We have since learned that the schools did have contact with the student the day before...

Oakland County sheriff officials blamed the county prosecutor Friday for the parents of the suspect in the Oxford High School mass shooting being on the lam."In my entire 44-year career, I have never, ever seen a prosecutor announce charges in a major case without the suspect being in custody first," Oakland Undersheriff Mike McCabe told the Free Press.Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speak to the media about the Oxford High School shooting."We don't let people turn themselves in," he said. "When a warrant is authorized by a judge, we go and get them."The tragic and deadly...

<p>ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — After briefly being the subject of a $10,000 manhunt, the parents of a teen who allegedly perpetrated a mass shooting at Oxford High School have been arraigned on criminal charges.</p><p>James R. Crumbley, 45, and Jennifer L. Crumbley, 43, on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 4, appeared before Oakland County District Judge Julie A. Nicholson for arraignment on four counts of involuntary manslaughter. The charge is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $7,500 fine.</p>

The attorney for James and Jennnifer Crumbley, the parents of the accused Oxford High School shooting suspect, says they are turning themselves in to face involuntary manslaughter charges. Attorney Shannon Smith late Friday afternoon indicated the Crumbleys were returning to face charges, according to the Detroit News. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Department earlier Friday issued an advisory for people to be-on-the-lookout for the Crumbleys because they had not turned themselves into police as their attorney supposedly had promised.

Killed in Tuesday's school shooting were Tate Myre, 16, Hana St Juliana, 14, and 17-year-old Madisyn Baldwin School shooter opened fire on people at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit around 12:50pm Tuesday Eight people were injured, including a teacher and a girl, 14, who was in critical condition and on a ventilator The Sheriff's Office said the suspect, a 15-year-old male, used 9mm Sig Sauer pistol purchased by his father Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the suspected shooter, who is in custody, was not cooperating with his officers Chilling video footage shows students hiding in a barricaded classroom as the...

Sheriff’s Office says 4-6 wounded after shooting at Oxford, Michigan High School Shooter in custody Multiple people were injured in a shooting Tuesday at Oxford High School in Michigan. The shooter is in custody, according to Michael McCabe, undersheriff with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office. A handgun was also located, he said. The shooting happened just before 1 p.m. McCabe said between four to six people have been injured and there are no confirmed fatalities at this time. The conditions of those who were injured are not known. The scene remains active with multiple police, ambulances and SWAT at the...

Several people have been wounded and a suspected gunman is in custody following a shooting at a Michigan high school on Tuesday. Authorities responded to reports of an active shooting at Oxford High School at 12:55 p.m., according to local media reports. The shooter was detained at the scene in Oxford, about 30 miles north of Detroit, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said. Between four and six people were injured in the shooting. It is unclear if the victims were shot or suffered other injuries in the ordeal.

Report by Patty of 100PercentFedUp:MI GOP Chair Laura Cox and RNC Chair Ronna Romney came out yesterday to inform Americans of the actions the MI Republican Party and RNC intend to take to get to the bottom of multiple election irregularities. Democrats and the media spent 4 years and millions of taxpayer dollars talking about a Russia hoax, on the grounds of election integrity. Now, with only 48 hours after the polls have closed, and an actual election for president, they want to ignore clear irregularities, rush to call states as “won,” and end this election We will not...

This story is a collaboration between ProPublica Illinois and the Detroit Free Press, and co-published with Bridge Magazine. Update, July 17, 2020: A Michigan Family Division judge Friday granted a request to review the case of Grace, a 15-year-old sent to juvenile detention for violating probation by not doing her schoolwork, and reconsider her decision to detain the girl. Oakland County judge Mary Ellen Brennan scheduled a hearing for Monday morning to review the “progress and engagement” of Grace and her mother during the past two months, while the girl has been in detention and then a residential treatment program....

A white Oakland County, Michigan couple were charged with felony assault on Thursday after a video of a pregnant woman defending herself from a black woman with a firearm went viral. Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper charged Jillian Wuestenberg , 32, and Eric Wuestenberg, 42, each with one count of felonious assault, a four-year felony, the Detroit News reported. Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper charged Jillian Wuestenberg, 32, and Eric Wuestenberg, 42, each with one count of felonious assault, a four-year felony. The Independence Township couple each possessed one loaded firearm and CPL licenses, Sheriff Mike Bouchard said. The couple...

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A 68-year-old man from Genessee County has been charged with assault and battery of a Dollar Tree employee after he wiped his face on her shirt when she said he needed to wear a mask inside the store.

As the coronavirus death toll climbs in Michigan — 540 as of Saturday (04 April 20) — another grim number will never be known: The dead who go uncounted as casualties of the worst pandemic in a century.“I don’t know if our fatalities would be twice as many or 10 times as high, and we won’t know until we have ready access to tests,” said Dr. Russell Faust, medical director of Oakland County’s health division. Because of a nationwide shortage of tests, there are few efforts to test the dead for coronavirus, especially for those who are elderly or have underlying conditions. The...

With a laundry list of tax hikes proposed by Congress or Democratic candidates for president, it's understandable why many would view Washington as the biggest threat to taxpayers’ wallets. However, policymakers at the state and local level are just as likely to reach into taxpayers’ pockets as those in Washington, D.C. Take Election Day 2019, which featured nearly 1,000 tax and fiscal ballot measures.  Publicly-accessible data from secretaries of state and county election offices found 954 measures across 19 different states and hundreds of localities, most of which were negative measures that would impact taxpayers and businesses. There were at...

A former candidate for the state House of Representatives who embezzled nearly $150,000 of campaign funds from Oakland County treasurer Andy Meisner has been sentenced to probation and ordered to repay the stolen money. On Tuesday in Oakland County Circuit Court, Judge Nanci Grant ordered Jennifer Suidan, 34 of Wolverine Lake, to serve five years probation and make consistent, monthly payments to cover $98,304 she stole from Meisner and $51,000 she stole from the Goodman Acker law firm, which Meisner had hired to manage his campaign funds. Suidan had gained access to the funds — including the law firm’s retainer...

By this point in the Interstate 696 rebuild project, state transportation officials had envisioned drivers headed eastbound would have been shifted to new concrete paved on the westbound side. That hasn't happened -- yet. A spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Transportation said Thursday the changeover likely will take place the week of August 20. "Early plans did expect the traffic shift to be in late July, but it's up to the contractor to organize his work crew and locations," Diane Cross of MDOT's communications staff said in an email. "As long as he meets the contract reopening date in...