The criminal case against a controversial Melvindale police lieutenant accused of multiple felonies was bound over for trial Monday.

Watch Ross Jones' video report: Criminal cases against controversial Melvindale lieutenant are bound over

The charges stem from three separate police incidents involving Lieutenant Matthew Furman that investigations by 7 News Detroit first revealed.

The first incident, occurring during the summer of 2024, involved Drakkar Williams, a man Furman stopped for driving around traffic barricades.

Williams license was suspended, and his vehicle was not insured. After Williams refused to provide his name, Furman moved to arrest him.

While his partner held Williams outside the car, Furman began to use his Taser on him repeatedly.

PREVIOUS REPORT: Former Melvindale Chief alleges Police Sgt. Matthew Furman 'engaged in repeated acts of police brutality' Former Melvindale Chief alleges Police Sgt. Matthew Furman 'engaged in repeated acts of police brutality'

Prosecutors say Furman kicked Williams in the leg and deployed his taser again, striking him in the back.

Williams took the stand on Monday.

What was going through your mind when you were initially tased? asked Asst. Wayne County Prosecutor Matthew Makepeace.

I dont want to die, Williams replied.

Furman said Williams was uncooperative and that he was fearful he could have been carrying a weapon. After he was handcuffed, Furman would be seen arguing with Williams again.

According to the prosecutor, medics were called to the scene to treat Williams for his injuries. While being treated, prosecutors say the two began to argue and that Officer Furman grabbed Williams by his shirt and by his hair and pulled him against the fire truck.

What we see is not a police officer acting under the color of law or acting in accordance with his duties, Makepeace said, but acting as someone who willingly thinks they can do whatever they want on any given traffic stop to whomever they want.

PREVIOUS REPORT: Controversial Melvindale lieutenant fends off claim of excessive force involving Taser Controversial Melvindale lieutenant fends off claim of excessive force involving Taser

Testifying for the prosecution today was Furmans fellow officer, Lieutenant Humayun Rahman, who responded to the scene the day Williams was stopped.

Asked why he didnt pull Williams hair, as Furman did, Rahman responded: I didnt find there was any need for it.

Also testifying Monday was Alica Cook, who was sitting in a parked car, waiting to drop off her 11-year-old last year at cheerleading practice when Furman noticed her vehicles insurance had lapsed.

Cook said she was frightened by Furmans combative attitude, refusing his commands to get out of the vehicle. When Cook did not step out of her vehicle, Furman would eventually use his Taser on her.

I didnt understand why he pulled the Taser, Cook testified. I didnt have any weapons in my hands, theres two children in the car. I informed him I just had surgery. I wasnt going to go anywhere.

Under cross-examination, Cook admitted she was not cooperative with Furmans orders.

You understood he told you to turn your car off, correct? asked defense attorney Dennis Whittie.

Right, Cook said.

And he did it three times? Whittie asked.

Yes, Cook replied.

Also taking the stand Monday was Furmans former deputy chief, Nick Martinez.

He admitted that the department didnt investigate all of the cases Furman is now charged over, but that he looked into the Williams case.

I found there was policy violations in that case, and I turned it over to the chief, he testified.

But Martinez, who has since left the department, said he didnt remember what the violations were.

Furmans attorney argued that was because Furmans conduct was justified.

You may sit there and say I dont like how Lieutenant Furman talks, Whittie said. Hell, you may say hes a real ass. You may say that, and I understand that. But that doesnt make it criminal. That doesnt get us probable cause in this case.

But Judge Sam Salamy disagreed, ultimately binding the cases over to Wayne Circuit Court.

The other charges against Furman stem from a 2021 police chase that 7 News reported on earlier this year. The suspect had stolen a vehicle, police said, after striking an officer. After his vehicle crashed, the man fled on foot before officers surrounded him.

As officers tried to subdue the man, a Dearborn officers body cam caught Furman repeatedly stomping on the mans leg. Another can be heard warning that cameras are rolling.

The Dearborn officer reported Furmans actions to his supervisor. Furman said the man was resisting, and he used the stomps as a form of pain compliance. He was not disciplined by his department but was charged by Worthy Thursday.

In that case, Furman has been charged with misconduct in office and assault and battery.

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

Michelle Fonville thought her car had been stolen. Shed lived at the Medical Center Courts apartments since February, across from Detroit Receiving Hospital, and always parked her 2017 Chevy Cruz in the same spot.

Watch the 7 Investigation in the video player below: 'Grab the car by any means.' Ex-employees say Detroit tow company preyed on drivers

But as she left for work on a morning in September, all she found was an empty space.

I called the police immediately, she said.

Michelles car hadnt been stolen. Just after 6 a.m. that morning, a Detroit towing company that contracted with the complex had her vehicle removed.

No one had complained that Michelles car was in the wrong space. Instead, a spotter employed by Goch & Sons towed the vehicle because he couldnt see her parking permit in the window.

Fonville denies this. Even still, she said she brought her lease to the towers headquarters in Detroit to prove she had every right to be parked there.

The employee was not persuaded, Fonville said. The cost to get her vehicle back, $750, was more than she could afford. Michelle stopped paying her car note, she said, and her vehicle was repossessed earlier this month.

Shes been relying on friends to drive her to the grocery store, medical appointments and work.

Its a burden to call people to do everything for you, Fonville said, when I had a car and it was parked at my house.

I dont find it sleazy

For Goch & Sons, some of the companys biggest critics arent the people who lost their cars; theyre the ones who towed them.

Today, the company is embroiled in a legal fight after five of its former employees left to join a competitor. Goch & Sons says they did so in violation of their non-compete agreements.

But their new employer J&T Crova Towing says they left, in part, because of Gochs unethical or illegal business tactics.

Grab the car by any means was the motto, said Shane Nation, who towed for the company for five years.

There was plenty of times I would have rather just given the person their car backand if we gave the car back, we lost our job, he said.

Goch & Sons is one of the areas biggest towers, having contracts with Michigan State Police, and cities like Melvindale and Lincoln Park. Private businesses and apartments contract with them, too.

The company relies heavily on the use of spotters, former employees say, who patrol parking lots like those across from Detroit Receiving Hospital, looking for vehicles that don't belong there.

Finding parking at the hospital, especially in an emergency, can be a challenge, and visitors would sometimes park at the apartment complex.

Cars could be there for two minutes, said David Lemaire, a former tower. People walk across the street to the hospital to visit their kid or their family member and their car gets towed.

7 News Detroit watched it happen repeatedly over the last several weeks. A Goch & Sons spotter would see a car, alert a tow truck driver who was parked around the block, and the car would be hooked within minutes.

People are going throughmaybe some of themthe worst day they could go through, Lemaire said. Theyre literally just trying to see a loved one.

Thats what Pavielle DeRamus was doing. She was visiting her uncle, who was on life support following a heart attack.

When she came out a few hours later, her car was gone. The cost to get it back was $700.

Mike Goch, an owner of the Detroit tower, defends the companys use of spotters.

I dont find it sleazy at all," Goch said. "Its a service that we offer to apartment complexes."

Goch said he understands drivers' frustration, but said his company is looking out for apartment residents who could struggle to find parking.

As for Michelle Fonville, he cited her failure to place a parking permit in her window.

Theyre predatory. They prey on people, said Tom Berry, a retired Detroit Police Lieutenant. They prey on people that cant afford the tow.

Berry worked for the department for 35 years. Since then, hes been an insurance investigator specializing in the towing industry, and is familiar with Goch & Sons' towing practices.

Theyre not out in Birmingham or West Bloomfield or Grosse Pointe towing cars out there, and the reason theyre not out there is they can get away with it here, Berry said.

Claims of excessive billing

The former employees say the company used other tactics to inflate bills, too.

When a vehicle is in an accident, a customer may tell the tower to take their car to a collision shop. But on their way, the former Goch & Sons drivers say they would take a detour. 

Even though its going right to the body shop, they would have us pull into the impound and sit there a few minutes, " said Dion Cook, a former tower

Police tows in Michigan are regulated, with fees capped. But stopping at the companys impound lot triggers a new towing bill where fees aren't capped, the former employee says.

They would have us drop the cars sometimes and just sit there for 15 minutes with the winch still hooked up, said Shane Nation.

Former employee Dustin Nation, Shanes brother, said he was instructed to take vehicles back to the companys impound lot as well.

"So youre not ever leaving the car at the impound lot, asked Channel 7s Ross Jones.

No, Dustin said.

But because you drove through it, you could charge an impound fee, Jones said.

Thats...yeah, Dustin replied.

A recent tow, initiated by Michigan State Police, lays out how costs can add up.

The initial bill came in at almost $360, but instead of going directly to the collision shopas the vehicle owner wantedthe GGoch & Sons driver towed it to the companys impound lot in Detroit.

While there, costs for storage, a fuel surcharge, an administration fee, a release fee, yard labor and more were added to the bill, bringing the total up to more than $650.

Then came the second tow to the collision shop, including a $250 towing fee, $150 mileage fee, $150 flatbed fee, $200 for labor and $200 for winching.

The grand total: $1,614.50, billed to the insurance company.

Im not a lawyer, Mike Goch said. Ive been told this is the proper way to do it, and this is how its supposed to be done and thats why were doing it.

Do you do it because its also a way to inflate bills? asked Channel 7s Ross Jones.

No. But I can see why someone might think that, he said.

At first, Mike Goch claimed the law requires

police tows to be taken to an impound lot. 7 News Detroit could find no police department that said that was true, and Gochs attorney later said there is no such requirement.

Everybody in Michigan wonders why are our rates so high," said Tom Berry, the retired police lieutenant and insurance investigator. "This is one of the reasons our rates are so high."

'Beat the police there'

The lawsuit against Goch & Sons also claims the company violated Michigan law by soliciting business at accident scenes, which the company denies.

Shane Nation said he did it frequently.

The number one goal was to beat the police there, so we could be hooked up when they got there and make it seem like we were already here and ready to flip over this truck," Nation said.

Thats what employees say happened in July, when a moving truck got stuck under an overpass in Detroit. David Lemaire was dispatched to the scene.

(We) told the customer at that point that we got called out by DPD, and that this was our area to take care of the job, Lemaire said.

Was any of that true? Jones asked. 

No, he said. But that is what we were told to tell them. 

And it seemed to be working, employees said, until it came time for the bill. Goch & Sons wanted $2,000 to tow the truck; the moving company said theyd never agreed to that price, and Detroit Police were called to the scene.

In a video recording of the interaction, a DPD sergeant can be heard expressing frustration that Goch & Sons routinely arrives to accident scenes before police.

You guys show up before anybody else calls you all the time, said Sgt. Rodney Ballinger. All the timeyou beat us here 9 times out of 10.

The sergeant ordered the moving truck be returned to the company, but the drivers refused. 

The probable cause is that you solicited them" the sergeant said. "How did you show up here?

We got a call, a Goch & Sons employee responded.

They didnt call anybody, the sergeant said. They never called anybody.

Speaking with 7 News Detroit, Mike Goch claimed that the company called us, even though they told police that they never did.

Im not surprised, Goch said. They dont want to pay their bill.

The truck would be released, the drivers would be handcuffed and cited for disorderly conduct. The case is still pending.

During the same month, Mike Goch himself was suspected of soliciting a tow at the very same bridge in Detroit.

According to a police report, Goch & Sons arrived on the scene, even though no one called for a tow truck.

Mike Goch was accused of calling the company directly, saying he was on the scene and that their truck needed to be towed, according to the police report.

The company declined, saying theyd go with a different tower. Mike Goch would be cited for soliciting a tow, according to the police report, which stated that a citation was mailed to Gochs home address.

Speaking to 7 News Detroit, he denied knowing anything about the citation and said he has never received a ticket.

A check of 36

th

District Court register of actions did not show an active case for Mike Goch, though a Detroit Police Department spokesperson said last week that the ticket was sent to Goch by certified mail.

The only person or people telling you this are disgruntled employees who work for our competitors, Goch said.

Well thats not true, said Jones. The companies arent disgruntled former employees, they had their vehicle in an accident. The police arent disgruntled former employees, theyre here to try to enforce the law. Theyre saying youre soliciting tows.

Its not true, were not soliciting tows, Goch said. Its simply not true.

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