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Today β€” 11 April 2026Main stream

DPD chief: Sergeant should have entered home of Detroit woman who is now missing

10 April 2026 at 19:38

A Detroit police sergeant has been taken off the street while the department probes why she left the scene of a domestic violence call despite evidence that 36-year-old Catilin Tressler may have been in danger.

Watch Ross Jones' video report: DPD chief: Sergeant should have entered home of Detroit woman who is now missing

On Friday, Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison said the sergeant should have entered the home of Tressler and her boyfriend, rather than clearing the scene despite evidence of possible abuse. Tressler has been missing since March 27.

"The sergeant was in charge of that scene," Bettison told Channel 7's Ross Jones. "Should not have left that scene without physically observing her. I think there was definitely grounds for entry and further observation."

The officers were dispatched to the home on Webb Street near Linwood following a report of domestic violence. According to sources, officers arrived after 10 p.m. but never entered the home.

Previous report: Detroit police name boyfriend as person of interest in disappearance of 36-year-old Caitlin Tressler Boyfriend named person of interest in Caitlin Tressler disappearance

Instead, they spoke to Tressler through an open window. and talked to her boyfriend through a closed door and closed window.

The caller who alerted police said the suspect Tresslers boyfriend had access to (a) blade, and officers who responded are said to have known he was in possession of a knife.

Tressler, sources say, told officers that she may have suffered a concussion and had a black eye.

The sergeant and officers were at the scene for around 40 minutes, sources say, but would ultimately leave. Tressler has been missing ever since.

Shes a veteran member of this department, Bettison said of the sergeant at the scene. This is elementary. Based off the circumstances, entry should have been made."

Previous report: Detroit police search for Caitlin Tressler, missing as troubling details emerge about boyfriend Detroit police search for Caitlin Tressler, missing woman on west side

Neighbors report that Tressler's boyfriend packed up and left town in a U-Haul truck the next day after police were called. He has been labeled a person of interest.

The sergeant who responded to that scene is on administrative duty not interacting with the public while internal affairs continues its investigation.

Contact 7 Investigator ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.

Before yesterdayMain stream

'He was near death:' Family of two Pontiac boys sent to trial over torture, abuse charges

27 February 2026 at 21:59

The family of two young Ponitac boys who doctors say were starved will stand trial on abuse and torture charges.

Arturo Bazan is accused of starving and abusing his two sons, Jonathan and Ethan, along with wife, Dulce Bazan, and older son Carlos. The two parents waived their right to a preliminary exam today, while Carlos did not.

Watch the video report below: 'He was near death:' Family of two Pontiac boys sent to trial over torture, abuse charges

Dr. Peter Gerrits, a pediatric endocrinologist, testified Friday that 9-year-old Jonathan was near death when he arrived at the emergency room in November. He weighed only 33 lbs and had lost a third of his body weight in the prior seven months.

Unbelievable, Gerrits said. It was quite striking that a person could lose that much weight.

Related Story: Parents charged in starving and torture case Parents charged with starving and torturing two kids in Pontiac

Dr. Allison Ball, a pediatrician at Corewell Hospital in Royal Oak, saw Jonathan within a day of his arrival. She had treated malnourished children in Rwanda and said Jonathans emaciation stood out.

I never saw a child this malnourished, Ball said. I never saw a child who looked as sick and emaciated and near death as Jonathan.

Ball said she saw evidence of more than just a few missed meals.

There was strong medical evidence that he was the victim of severe, prolonged maltreatment that was physical and psychological and to me constitutes torture, she said.

At the hospital, Dr. Ball said she saw marks and lacerations on Jonathans body as well. She said she spoke to Jonathans older brother Carlos, who drove him to the hospital.

Carlos said he provided military discipline, she said. Military discipline is the words he would share with me. He described that he would have Jonathan or his brother do jumping jacks or push-ups for discipline.

Also taking the stand Friday was Dr. Letha Powell, the principal of the boys school. She said both Jonathan and Ethan often seemed hungry, with one sometimes eating directly from the trash at school.

At other times, she said the boys showed signs of possible physical abuse. When Jonathan and Ethan didnt show up to school one day, Powell made a home visit herself.

A young lady came to the door and I said to her, Where are my babies? And all she said was 'not here,' Powell said.

Perhaps the most disturbing detail of all in Fridays testimony was that this case did not come out of nowhere.

When an Oakland County Sheriffs Detective took the stand, she said that repeated warnings had been made to CPS over the last 3 years.

"There were eight reports since 2022, said Detective Allison Michaels of the Oakland County Sheriffs Office.

There were a lot of allegations of physical abuse and neglect, specifically injuries to the children and allegations that they were not getting enough food.

In announcing her decision to send the criminal case to trial, Judge Ronda Fowlkes Gross said: You had three adults. Nobody rescued these kids.

Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.

Wayne Co. commissioner calls for β€˜changes’ at the top of sheriff’s office after secret recordings

19 February 2026 at 22:49

As the number of harassment claims against the Wayne County sheriff growand damaging recordings emergecounty leaders are becoming frustrated with the growing and costly controversy.

Watch Ross Jones' video report: Wayne County commissioner calls for changes at the top of sheriffs office

After recordings emerged Tuesday showing Raphael Washington's then-chief of staff calling him a womanizer who makes me uncomfortable," at least one longtime Wayne County commissioner says the sheriff should leave office.

RELATED: 'Can't help himself': Secret recordings undercut Wayne Co. sheriffs sexual harassment denials

'Can't help himself': Secret recordings undercut Wayne Co. sheriffs sexual harassment denials

There needs to be some changes there, said Commissioner Glenn Anderson (D-Westland).

Anderson and others were responding to secret recordings made in 2022, and revealed by 7 News Detroit earlier this week, between Washingtons then-communications director Erika Erickson and his then-chief of staff Michael Turner.

In light of the recordings, Anderson said Washington's prior denials of harassment were harder to believe

Ive seen too much of this. The county doesnt need that, the people of Wayne County do not need that," he said.

Other leaders who had previously bit their tongues about harassment claims in Washingtons past began to raise their voices Thursday.

Theres enough clamoring going on that it is not good for the image of Wayne County or anybody in it, said Wayne County Executive Warren Evans.

Evans said its important for the civil lawsuit filed against Washington by former appointee Regina Parks to play out in the courts, but said the allegations bring a tarnished image of Wayne County and that the lawsuit is something were paying for that we may or may not need to be paying for.

To date, the county has shelled out more than $130,000 to defend the suit.

In her lawsuit, Parks alleges that Washington touched her buttocks, propositioned her for sex and made lewd and sexual comments over a period of years.

She was fired in 2024, she claims, after telling Washingtons executive assistant that she, too, had secretly recorded him sexually harassing her.

Washington vehemently denies all of the allegations and says Parks was fired for throwing a fit after learning she would lose her title as director.

Erickson recorded her meeting with Turner in 2022 where when told him about alleged comments from the sheriff that she found troubling.

Ray has long been a womanizer, Turner said, and he makes me uncomfortable with relationships he had around here with two people in particular that have accused him of some shit.

Turner did not know the meeting was being recorded, and his candid statements contradicted prior public remarks hed made downplaying prior claims made against the sheriff.

He cant help himself. And I shouldnt say that, Turner said, as if to take back his words. That didnt jump outI keep telling him, those words are not acceptable anymore in the workplace.

Other elected officials expressed frustration Thursday with the Washington saga, but did not call for him to resign.

Congresswoman Rashia Tlaib shared WXYZs report with her 750,000 Instagram followers, writing: Have folks been following this? These are serious allegations.

Despite two meetings and an e-mail where Erickson voiced concerns about the sheriff's comments, spokeswoman Mara MacDonald says she ultimately chose not to make a formal complaint of sexual harassment.

Since last week, 7 News Detroit has asked for any records of that decision. To date, the sheriffs office has not provided any.

Erickson would lose her job with the sheriffs office only a few months after that meeting. It happened following an OWI arrest in Oakland County, which the sheriffs office said was justification for not renewing her appointment.

After Parks filed her lawsuit, it would be disclosed that she and Turnerher supervisorhad engaged in a sexual relationship between 2021 and 2024. Turner would retire following the disclosure; he declined comment for this story.

Reached Friday, Commissioner Allen Wilson said he was "taken aback" by Turner's comments in the secret recordings.

"These allegations are pretty concerning for anyone who has a pulse," Wilson said.

On Thursday, Commissioner Alex Garza (D-Taylor) called the allegations deeply concerning while Commission Chairwoman Alisha Bell said the recordings give me pause.

Theres a number of concerns that were brought out from your story, said Commissioner Jonathan Kinloch (D-Detroit) and at the appropriate time, the county will address a number of those issues.

If the ethics committee had teethwhich it should, said Commissioner Monique Baker-McCormick (D-Detroit), then maybe they could do something about it.

Washington was appointed sheriff in 2021 following the death of Benny Napoleon from COVID-19. A three-member panel was tasked with finding Napoleon's replacement.

Prosecutor Kym Worthy and Clerk Cathy Garrett voted for Washington, while Judge Freddie Burton abstained.

Through a spokeswoman, Worthy said she had no comment on the Washington saga. Garrett did not respond to a text message seeking comment.

Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.

City says work was being done on Dearborn parking garage months before partial collapse

9 February 2026 at 23:23

Months before a parking structure partially collapsed in Dearborn, trapping a 19-year-old man inside his vehicle, 7 News Detroit has learned that city officials sought an engineering report assessing the building's structural integrity.

Watch Ross Jones's video report: City says work was being done on Dearborn parking garage months before collapse

The request came after the city discovered unauthorized work being performed on the parking deck in June 2025. Because the owners had not sought a permit, the city stopped the work and told the owners to submit formal plans before proceeding.

Related Story: Man rescued after being trapped in parking garage that partially collapsed in Dearborn Man rescued after being trapped in parking garage that partially collapsed in Dearborn

In November, the city says those plans were submitted, but ultimately denied until the owner provided a structural engineering report that would assess the integrity of the structure. The city says that report has not been submitted to this day.

The city did not condemn the structure, and it was allowed to continue to operate. As of Monday, city officials said they did not know when the structure was last inspected by its building department, but believed it had been at least three or four years.

Earlier Monday, 7 News Detroit spoke with Mo Beydoun, an attorney who said he represents the owner of the structure, GJ Ramz Acquisition LLC.

The company has owned the building since 2017, and Beydoun said he did not know when the structure was last inspected.

However, he said that structural engineers on the scene since the weekend have found nothing to explain the collapse, and said its clear that structural integrity was completely sound."

Beydoun said the company is not ruling out human error, like a vehicle striking something inside the garage, but says that they remain in the dark while an investigation is ongoing.

The partial collapse of the parking garage happened around 8:45 p.m. on Friday.

Firefighters raced against time to save the 19-year-old who was trapped inside his car on the lower level of the garage.

"It looked like a big collapse, a pancake collapse the second floor collapsed on the first, which collapsed on the car," said Dearborn Fire Chief Joseph Murray.

After he was rescued, the teen was transported to a local hospital as a precaution.

Contact 7 Investigator Ross Jones at ross.jones@wxyz.com or at (248) 827-9466.

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