Wednesday
Jun022010

Supreme Court narrows Miranda rights, keeps Mich. convict in prison

 


Published: Yesterday

A Michigan man will continue serving a life sentence for murder after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that he gave up his rights against self-incrimination because he did not explicitly tell police he wanted to remain silent after his arrest.

The 5-4 decision overturns a ruling by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and reinstates Van Chester Thompkins' conviction for a Jan. 10, 2000, murder in Southfield.

Detroit attorney Elizabeth Jacobs, who argued the case for Thompkins, 33, in front of the Supreme Court in March, said the ruling is "very disappointing." The court is "diminishing Miranda rights as we know them," Jacobs said.

Miranda rights are the rights of a suspect to remain silent. Police tell suspects about those rights in a statement called a Miranda warning that gets its name from a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 1966.

When police questioned Thompkins, he remained mostly silent for more than two hours, Jacobs said.

But he later answered "yes" when one of the officers asked him if he prayed for forgiveness for "shooting that boy down."

Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, said Thompkins could have ended the questioning by telling the police he wanted to invoke his right to remain silent.

In a dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the decision "turns Miranda upside down." It's counterintuitive, she said, to require a suspect to speak in order to exercise the right to remain silent.

Jacobs said she expected the decision to be close but wasn't sure which way Kennedy -- the swing vote between the conservatives and liberals on the court -- would come down.

She said she had not yet spoken to Thompkins, who is serving a life sentence at Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater.

pegan@detnews.com (313) 222-2069



Friday
Dec182009

Wayne Seeks Firefighting Prosecutor

Wayne Plans To Hire Firefighting Prosecutor With Fund Raising Money

POSTED: Friday, December 18, 2009
UPDATED: 11:46 am EST December 18, 2009

Arson is an old problem in Wayne County, and the situation is getting worse.With budgets tight and resources limited, arson cases often don't receive the attention they deserve in the prosecutor’s office, but there is a new effort to fight fire with funds.The Michigan Arson Prevention Committee is spearheading an initiative to raise money that will go toward hiring an assistant prosecutor and investigators who will focus on arson cases.“As far as I know, it’s very unique. It’s the first time ever that we have risen to the occasion,” said organizer Patricia Parr-Armelagos.With the number of unsolved cases climbing, the funding is a major boost for the Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's office. “We are really hurting, we are bursting at the seams. We can’t cover all our core services. Now with something like this, it’s like a double benefit for us,” said Worthy at a recent fund raising event.The organization is seeing donations pour in from both the private and public sectors. The prosecutor’s office could see an increase in staff as early as January next year. 

Click Here For Video

Friday
Dec182009

Sheriff’s Office loses four-legged arson investigator

Thursday, December 17, 2009

By ANN ZANIEWSKI
Of The Oakland Press

The Oakland County Sheriff ’s Office is mourning the loss of a canine who had a knack for sniffing out cases of arson.

Blaze, a German shepherd, died Monday, one day before his fifth birthday. He had a cancer-related illness.

“Blaze was a valued and loyal member of the OCSO team and we will miss him very much,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a statement released Wednesday.

“Even though his career was short, he had an outstanding record of service in arson investigation.”

Blaze was assigned to the Sheriff ’s Fire Investigations Unit. He was the only dog at the Sheriff ’s Office trained in arson investigation.

Born in Holland, Blaze was purchased with a $5,000 donation from Farm Bureau Insurance Company.

Blaze and his handler, Deputy Tom Kangas, graduated in July 2006 from an intensive five-week training session at the Oakland Police Academy.

Blaze responded to at least 220 calls for service and played a role in the arrest of 37 people for arson-related crimes during his career with the Sheriff ’s Office.

On his very first day on the job, Blaze helped Pontiac police officers and firefighters by detecting two separate areas where accelerant was used to start a fire at a church.

He also detected accelerants on a person who eventually confessed to starting a fire at a Royal Oak school that caused more than $1 million in damage.

Kangas said in addition to working on fire investigations, Blaze helped with building and area searches. He also provided officer protection.

“He was a real pleasure to work with. I really had no problems with him from day

one, at home or at work,” Kangas said.

Blaze lived in Howell with Kangas and his wife, Rebecca, and their 10 children, who range in age from 4 to 19. He had a good temperament and loved playing catch with children of all ages. Blaze, who recently had not been eating that much, was diagnosed with lymphoma Dec. 8. He had his first dose of chemotherapy a week ago today.

He died early Monday morning at home.

“Blaze will never be replaced. They’re like humans — nobody’s the same,” Kangas said. “He seemed like the best dog.”

Contact staff writer Ann Zaniewski at (248) 745-4628 or ann.zaniewski@oakpress. com.




Monday
Oct262009

Roseville's - Windy the arson dog sworn in

Windy the arson dog sworn in
WXYZ-TV
http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story/Windy-the-Arson-Dog-is-Sworn-in/6j97ZgSYAEWH9tltSHp3nA.cspx
 
Click on the above link to watch the video.

Monday
Oct262009

Ice Cream Oasis fire under investigation 


Firefighters responded to two separate fires at same location

 

 

HOUGHTON LAKE—The fire that engulfed the local summer hot spot, Ice Cream Oasis, is still under investigation.

Arson has not been ruled out at this time.

The Michigan State Fire Marshal is currently investigating the blaze to the Houghton Lake business and so far, “It’s suspicious,” Roscommon County Sheriff Randy Stevenson said.

“It’s under investigation, we’re waiting for the fire marshal to go through the debris and make a determination,” he said.

Firefighters were dispatched to the Houghton Lake business Saturday Oct. 17 around 6 p.m. to extinguish the fire. Upon arrival, Markey Township Fire Department Captain Nate Stearns said there was visible smoke coming from the back of the building. He said the fire had been completely extinguished three hours later.

Around 6 a.m. Sunday, firefighters were called back to the ice cream shop to extinguish another blaze. The cause of the second fire is unknown. Stearns said that it is always possible that the original fire rekindled, but has doubts in this case. Stevenson said the second fire originated from a different spot than the original.

“It wasn’t in the same place,” Stevenson said.

He said the incident became suspicious after the second fire. Due to the investigation, officials are not releasing the cause of the original fire.

Firefighters put the second fire out at 8:22 a.m. Stearns said.

The charred business is owned by William Spearman but was being run by his son.

There was no one in the building at the time of the fire and no injuries.

The Markey Township Fire Department, Denton Township Fire Department and Gerrish Township Fire Department were on scene.