A Pontiac teen recently acquitted of homicide is headed to prison for related convictions of armed robbery and using a firearm to commit the crime.
Sentenced Oct. 13 by Oakland County Circuit Judge Daniel O’Brien, Christian Harris, 19, will spend 13-50 years behind bars for the 2023 armed robbery of Armani Terrell Baker, 22, of Waterford.
Harris got an additional two years behind bars for felony firearm in connection with the armed robbery.
Christian Harris booking photo
Harris was 17 years old at the time of the incident and charged as an adult. His first trial ended in a mistrial last year after the jury deliberated for three days and failed to reach a unanimous verdict. The retrial concluded this past Sept. 8.
The Oakland Press has reached out to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office with questions about any further legal activity or investigation regarding Baker’s homicide but hasn’t heard back yet.
The other man charged for related offenses, Jeremiah Rodriguez — age 18 at the time of the incident — made a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty in September to an added count of accessory after the fact. Charges of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony were dismissed. Last month, O’Brien sentenced Rodriguez to 14 days in jail with credit for 14 days served, and three years probation.
An 82-year-old Pontiac man died Oct. 10 from injuries he sustained four days earlier when he was hit by a truck while crossing the street, officials said.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office identified the man as Larry Gene Howard, and said he was struck by a 2012 Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck near the intersection of Walton Boulevard and Baldwin Avenue in Pontiac, shortly after 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 6.
A 68-year-old Pontiac man was driving the truck southbound on Baldwin Avenue and turning right onto Walton Boulevard when Howard was hit, the sheriff’s office said.
Howard was transported to an area hospital where he died Friday. The incident remains under investigation by the Crash Reconstruction Unit, the sheriff’s office said.
Mourners who gathered in Fenton on Saturday to remember the life of Thelma Armstrong, 54, a victim of the September attack on a Mormon church in Grand Blanc Township, remembered her as a warm, loving person who had a deep devotion to her family and her faith.
Armstrong’s friends and family, who knew her as “Yia Yia,” said she lit up a room with her sunny personality, loved the colors pink and red and had a strong work ethic. She raised two children, Charne’ Lichtenberg and Damon Du Bruyn, on her own and had three grandchildren.
Her son, Damon, said during the memorial service the “world has lost a little bit of joy and a little bit of fire” with his mother’s passing.
“I think the thing that will stay with me forever is just my mom’s kindness. And she never knew how to hold a grudge,” he said.
Armstrong was worshiping at the Grand Blanc Township Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sept. 28 when Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, of Burton rammed his pickup truck into the side of the church, shot at congregants and set the building on fire, authorities said.
Two people died from the gunfire, eight were wounded and two bodies were discovered in the rubble of the church, The victims’ ages ranged from 6 to 78 years old. Police shot and killed Sanford at the scene.
Mourners, some dressed in red, filled a chapel in the Sharp Funeral Home in Fenton on Saturday. Pink, red and white flowers surrounded two photos of Armstrong.
Armstrong was born on May 8, 1971, in Klerksdorp, South Africa, according to her online obituary. She immigrated to the U.S. in 2019 to be near her grandchildren, her son-in-law said in remarks at her service.
Thelma Rina Armstrong. (Family pohto)
“She had endured so many trials in her life, and she knew what it was to struggle,” said her son-in-law, Shane Lichtenberg. “And yet none of us knew that, because she shouldered it so well and she had a smile on her face no matter what happened in her life.”
She converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2011, but Armstrong had always been religious, her obituary said. Her daughter said she felt immediately connected to missionaries who came to her door because of their name tags reading “Jesus Christ.” The bonds she built with them earned her the nickname “Missionary Mother.” She taught a class for 5-year-olds at the Grand Blanc Township church.
In South Africa, Armstrong managed a local grocery store in Klerksdorp called Food Zone. After she moved to the U.S., she worked as a quality technician at American Axle.
Mourners leave after funeral services for Thelma Armstrong at the Sharp Funeral Home, in Fenton, Oct. 11, 2025. Armstrong was killed during a shooting and fire at the Grand Blanc Township Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Sept. 28. (David Guralnick/MediaNews Group)
Speakers said she was always proud of her children, and loved when her daughter picked out her clothes and helped her do her hair. But she considered everyone family, according to her obituary.
Armstrong’s daughter, Charne’ Lichtenberg, shared one of her favorite stories about her mother. On her seventh birthday, her mother told her she had a surprise. Excited about the possibility of a Barbie doll, Lichtenberg was disappointed to see a figure of Jesus in her hand instead − not knowing she would come to appreciate the gift later.
“But what I know now as an adult that − of course I didn’t know at the time as a 7-year-old girl − is that she had placed the biggest gift in my hand that day, and that was the gift of knowing my savior, Jesus Christ,” Lictenberg said.
Mourners leave after the funeral for Thelma Armstrong at the Sharp Funeral Home, in Fenton, Oct. 11, 2025. Armstrong was killed during a shooting and fire at the Grand Blanc Township Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, September 28. (David Guralnick/MediaNews Group)
The Grand Blanc community has set up an official fund to benefit the victims, families and first-responders affected by Sunday’s mass shooting and fire that destroyed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel in Grand Blanc Township.
The Victim Compassion Fund is hosted by the ELGA Credit Union Foundation for Impact in collaboration with Grand Blanc Township, the township’s police department and the Latter-day Saints Church, which many people know as the Mormon church.
The intent of the fund is to help victims of Sunday’s tragedy, their families, and the injured, as well as first-responders and others with needs, including paying medical bills, financial support, and counseling, organizers said.
“We are going to make sure that the people that actually receive this money are victims of the situation here in Grand Blanc Township,” Township Supervisor Scott Bennett said Friday.
“We had 37 different agencies respond to the fire, so we want to make sure that, whether it’s counseling services or if they need medical bills paid, what have you, we want to be here for them,” Bennett added.
“We have families where the parents can’t work right now because of injury or just being afraid to leave their homes. We want ot make sure we take care of them, as well.”
A committee comprising representatives from the LDS Church, the township and the police department will determine how to distribute the funds based on financial need and the available resources. Those who want to seek financial support from the fund should contact the church or the township at (810) 424-2692 or email assist@gbtgov.com.
“We said, let’s do this where people know it’s safe, and it’s trusted. ELGA Credit Union is a trusted source in Genesee County and beyond here, and people know that,” said Cheryl Sclater, president of the ELGA Credit Union Foundation for Impact.
“As the needs come in, we will fill them, and that’s how it’s going to work. There’s been a few side fundraisers that have been out there in our community, and those people are coming back and giving the money to this fund, so that it actually goes out to victims of this tragedy.”
The LDS church is pointing to the fund as the recommended place for the community to contribute to help victims of the disaster, both to help church members and others, said Greg Geiger, communications director for the LDS Church in Southeast Michigan.
“None of the money will go to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One-hundred percent of the proceeds will go to victims of this tragedy,” said Geiger, who noted there are no fees associated with the fund.
“We appreciate and acknowledge their effort in trying to help the community.”
Geiger added that the LDS Church is not seeking or accepting funds from any organization to rebuild the church in Grand Blanc Township.
The impetus for the coordinated fundraising effort was, in part, to dissuade scammers, fraudulent fundraisers, and GoFundMe efforts that began circulating in the wake of Sunday’s fire. Community leaders wanted to establish a fund that could be trusted to support the who truly need help, they said.
“This is going to go far beyond even the physical and the health part. It will go on for a while with people who need that support financially for any type of therapy that they might need,” Sclater said.
“There will be a short grant process to have people please explain your needs. … But we want to get this money out. The people in this community have a heart, and they have come together like you can’t even imagine, to gift. We have had people out of state gifting, and it’s pretty amazing.”
Sclater didn’t have an estimated total available as of Friday afternoon, but said people can donate online or visit any EGLA branch in person to donate. She is working with the Mott Foundation and the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, which will accept some of the larger donations to the cause, she said.
She acknowledged that a number of victims’ families have set up GoFundMe accounts, and she stressed the Victim Compassion Fund is entirely separate.
“We are simply that vehicle to give our community a safe place to give back, because they don’t know what else they can do, and they want to give,” Sclater said. “We are that safe haven where they know their dollars are going to go out and be deployed.”
Kelly Pietrzak of Flint Township brought a bouquet of flowers to leave at the scene of the Grand Blanc Township Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, in Michigan. (David Guralnick/The Detroit News)
The civil rights group argues that these undocumented immigrants — many of whom have lived here for over a decade or were brought here as children — are no threat to the public.
33-year-old Jose Daniel Contreras-Cervantes is a Mexican national and has been in custody since a Macomb County traffic stop back in August. He has leukemia that requires daily medication.
Lupita Contreras is an American citizen and Jose’s wife. Their three children are also citizens. She says he’s not getting the care he needs.
“For 22 days, Jose did not receive his medication, which he is to take daily for his leukemia,” Contreras said. “Lapses in his medication and medical treatment can cause severe symptoms, including damage to his vision, infections and the loss of his life.”
The ACLU wants a judge to release the eight detainees while their immigration cases go through the court.
The Trump Administration ended a bond program for people awaiting their hearing. The Department of Justice and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are opting to jail undocumented immigrants, oftentimes seeking to deport them without due process.
ACLU of Michigan Senior Staff Attorney Miriam Aukerman says judges should have the final say over how these people are detained.
“In this country, due process is fundamental,”Aukerman said. “We don’t just lock people up and throw away the key. Rather, judges decide who should be behind bars. That is true for citizens and non-citizens.”
Another man, Fredy De Los Angeles-Flores, has lived in the U.S. for 15 years, but not legally. However, he is the sole caregiver of his 13-year-old U.S. citizen son.
The ACLU of Michigan has already successfully petitioned to get one man, Juan Manuel Lopez-Campos, released on bond after being detained at the Monroe County Jail.
For the Macomb County Sheriff’s office, Commander Jason Abro told WDET that it is common practice for deputies to inform Customs and Border Patrol when an undocumented immigrant is taken into custody. In Contreras-Cervantes’ case, he was pulled over for speeding, but arrested for not having a valid driver’s license.
Commander Abro says the Macomb County Sheriff’s office is not actively aiding ICE investigations and are not a part of the federal Section 287(g) immigration enforcement program.
Aukerman says the change in policy is meant to punish people who are seeking a better life in the U.S.
“This directive is specifically designed to force people to give up their claims for immigration relief and leave their families behind,” Aukerman said.
“The cruelty of this new directive is not an accident. Cruelty is the point.”
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An Afghan refugee accused of stabbing a caseworker in Orion Township early this year has a trial date in Oakland County Circuit Court.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Feb. 2, 2026 for the case against Gul Nabi Rahmati, 34, of Dearborn Heights, charged with assault with intent to murder — punishable by up to life in prison — and assault with a dangerous weapon — a four-year felony. Rahmati allegedly stabbed Zubair Mansuori at Mansuori’s home on Jan. 22.
According to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, Rahmati came to Mansuori’s home where he was met by Mansuori, a caseworker for the social services non-profit Samaritas. Rahmati, who was one of Mansuori’s clients, allegedly stabbed Mansuori multiple times then tried to attack another man who came to Mansuori’s aid.
Gul Rahmati booking photo
Rahmati fled the scene but turned himself in at the Dearborn Heights Police Department later that day, the prosecutor’s office said.
The prosecutor’s office said Rahmati and Mansuori are Afghan nationals and are in the United States legally.
Earlier this year, Rahmati underwent a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation and was found to be competent for trial.
As previously reported, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said a possible motive related to religion was being considered.
Rahmati is in the Oakland County Jail with bond set at $350,000. Court records state Judge Jacob Cunningham will preside over the trial, which is expected to take three to four days.
Detroit is known for its cars, but it’s also known for creating a lot of space for those cars.
Wide roads with many lanes cross the city and its suburbs.
But there’s a real push from Detroit planners to change that — to make our streets more compatible and safer for pedestrians and cyclists, and to slow down motorists.
Three years ago, Detroit published a “Streets for People” report about how to improve its streets.
And earlier this week, a city official told The Metro that Detroit plans to make a series of truck route restrictions in Southwest. That regulation is meant to prevent big trucks from navigating neighborhood blocks.
Producer Sam Corey spoke with Wayne State Urban Planner Eric Bettis about why Detroit has wide roads, and whether the city is trying to durably change that.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Hussein Murray’s brutal death last fall at his Rochester Hills home was not an accident, Assistant Prosecutor John Pietrofesa said Tuesday.
It was not a coincidence that Carlos Hernandez and Joshua Zuazo ended up Oct. 10 and Oct. 11 at Murray’s Rochester Hills home, Pietrofesa said during opening statements in Oakland County Circuit Court for Zuazo and Hernandez’s jury trial.
“This was not random, this was not an accident, it was not a coincidence they showed up at his house,” Pietrofesa said. “This was targeted and it was very well-planned.”
Murray, 72, who went by Sam, had his jaw and neck bones broken in a way where the assailants would have applied significant, sustained pressure to his neck, the medical examiner testified at the preliminary examination in December.
But Hernandez’s attorney Paulette Loftin said killing Murray was never part of the plan, and Hernandez did not take part in Murray’s fatal beating.
“It will be clear to you Mr. Hernandez was one of those individuals in that house on Oct. 10 and Oct. 11,” Loftin said. “The unfortunate death of Mr. Murray was never part of the plan, never even part of the discussion. It will be clear to you Mr. Hernandez did not take part in the beating of Mr. Murray.”
She said prosecutors would not be able to prove Hernandez’s intention was the premeditated murder of Murray.
Hernandez and Zuazo are charged with first-degree murder and two counts of unlawful imprisonment for Murray’s death. The men tried to have their trials separated, but Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Yasmine Poles denied their request in March.
Murray was the owner of Gold & Glitter Jewelry in Hamtramck. Police have said they suspect Murray was targeted in connection to his business.
Only opening statements for Hernandez’s jury took place Tuesday; openings for Zuazo’s jury will take place Wednesday morning.
Hernandez and Zuazo showed up at about 10 p.m. Oct. 10, posing as DTE workers who were checking out houses after a reported gas leak, Pietrofesa said.
Murray told them to leave and Hernandez told him they’d be back the next day, he said.
When they came back Oct. 11, Pietrofesa said this time Hernandez and Zuazo managed to talk their way into the house, saying they wanted to check the basement gas hookup.
Murray led Zuazo and Hernandez downstairs. He was never seen alive again, Pietrofesa said.
When the two men came back upstairs, Murray was not with them, Pietrofesa said. Zuazo had blood on his shirt.
Hernandez allegedly asked Murray’s wife, Linda, about money, a safe and jewels, but was told she didn’t have that inside the house, Pietrofesa said. All she had was costume jewelry, she told them.
When Linda saw the blood on Zuazo’s shirt, she started screaming. Hernandez hit her in the face, then shoved her up against the wall, Pietrofesa said. He bound her with duct tape, then both Hernandez and Zuazo ransacked the house before fleeing.
“When police arrive … you’ll see how brutally Sam was demolished,” Pietrofesa said.
When Hernandez was arrested in Louisiana, police found two pairs of shoes with Murray’s blood on them and a size 5 XL t-shirt with Murray’s blood on it.
Hernandez had been to Murray’s jewelry and pawn shops prior to Murray’s murder, Pietrofesa said. When he came to the pawn shop in February 2024 to pick up some items he had pawned, he asked to meet with Murray.
Hernandez and Zuazo face up to life in prison if they’re convicted.
Security camera footage from the home of Hussein Murray is shown as evidence during a preliminary hearing for Carlos Hernandez (left) and Joshua Zuazo (right) during a December 2024 preliminary exam last December in 52-3 District Court. (David Guralnick, Tribune News Service)
The owner of a Troy medical facility where a 5-year-old boy died in a hyperbaric chamber explosion was sent to jail Tuesday, reportedly for failing to meet the conditions of her release on bond.
According to online Oakland County Jail inmate information, Tamela Peterson, who faces felony charges of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the death in January, was booked into the jail Tuesday and will be released Wednesday.
Peterson, 58, was released from police custody in April after posting a $2 million bond. However, she returned to 52-4 District Court in Troy on Tuesday for a hearing related to a bond violation, according to online court records.
There, she told Judge Maureen M. McGinnis that she sold a firearm that she had possessed rather than surrendering it to the court, per the conditions of her bond, according to a WDIV-TV (Channel 4) report.
Peterson’s attorney, Thomas W. Cranmer, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.
Five-year-old Thomas Cooper died Jan. 31 at the Oxford Center in Troy after the hyperbaric chamber in which he was being treated for sleep apnea and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder suddenly exploded, attorneys for the boy’s family said.
In addition to Peterson, the center’s safety director, Jeffrey Mosteller, and its primary manager, Gary Marken, also are charged with murder and involuntary manslaughter. If convicted of murder, they face up to life in prison. Aleta Moffitt, who worked at the center and operated the chamber, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and intentionally placing false information on a medical record.
All four are accused of disregarding safety protocols and failing to follow the manufacturer’s recommended guidelines for hyperbaric treatment, according to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, which is handling the case.
Last week, attorneys for Cooper’s family announced a more than $100 million lawsuit against the four suspects, as well as the chamber’s manufacturer, Anaheim, California-based Sechrist Industries Inc., and Office Ventures Troy I LLC, which owns the Troy property where the Oxford Center operated. The center’s nonprofit is also named in the litigation.
Attorneys say the defendants failed to explain the potential dangers of the treatment to the boy’s family. They also allege that the Oxford Center deceitfully sold hyperbaric treatment plans for more than 100 conditions although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has only approved it for treatment of 13 conditions, which does not include ADHD or sleep apnea.
Tamela Peterson sits for a preliminary examination in the death of 5-year-old Thomas Cooper on Sept. 15, 2025 in Oakland County's 52-4 District Court in Troy. (Jose Juarez, Special to The Detroit News)
The case against a 33-year-old Texas man accused of human trafficking and other crimes in Oakland County has been bound over to circuit court for possible trial following a Sept.30 preliminary exam in Southfield’s 46th District Court.
Randolph Lewis was arrested July 21 in Southfield. The case against him unfolded when — according to police — officers responded to the Quality Inn on Telegraph Road for a malicious destruction of property complaint, and spoke with a woman who said a man she described as her boyfriend had broken her car windshield.
An investigation revealed the woman may be a victim of human trafficking; she reportedly told police she had met Lewis in Louisiana and he had introduced her to sex dates — listing her online for commercial sex services and collecting her earnings after the encounters, police said.
The woman also told officers that Lewis had sexually assaulted her, police said.
Randolph Lewis (photo shared by Southfield Police Dept.)
Lewis was located at another hotel nearby and taken into custody. A second possible human trafficking victim was with him, but she refused assistance from officers, police said.
The investigation also revealed that Lewis has operated in several cities, police said.
Lewis, of Arlington, Texas, is charged with human trafficking enterprise resulting in injury/commercial sexual activity, prostitution, and using a computer to commit a crime. Two counts of assault with intent to commit sexual penetration he had been charged with have been dismissed. Arraignment in Oakland County Circuit Court is scheduled for Oct. 8 before Judge Michael Warren.
Lewis is in the Oakland County Jail with bond set at $300,000 cash or surety.
Police said Lewis also has charges pending in Louisiana.
On Sunday, a place of worship was turned into a scene of violence.
In Grand Blanc, a former Marine and Iraq war veteran shot and killed at least four people at a Mormon church and allegedly set the building on fire. Officials say it was an act of targeted violence, though the motive remains unclear. Some victims are being treated at a local hospital.
Less than 14 hours before the attack in Michigan, another former Marine, Iraq war veteran and Purple Heart recipient killed three people and wounded five others in North Carolina.
These stories are about guns and access, but they’re also about veterans reentering civilian life, about isolation, grievance, trauma, and how people respond—or don’t—to warning signs.
Erin Comartin is a social work professor at Wayne State University. She spoke with Robyn Vincent about the roots of gun violence and how people can try to help prevent the next possible shooting.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
In Southwest Detroit, 18-wheeled vehicles frequently rumble through streets that aren’t made for them. Heavy truck traffic has been more than just an inconvenience here.
For years, it’s meant noise, pollution, and danger for neighbors. And the problem is significant.
Detroit is one of the country’s busiest freight hubs. Per Outlier Media reporting, about 128,000 loaded containers entered the city in July alone.
To improve the situation, the city of Detroit is creating new truck restrictions on certain streets. Samuel Krassenstein is the Chief of Infrastructure and the Deputy Director for Public Works for the City of Detroit. He tells The Metro that next week the city plans to make some of the biggest series of truck route restrictions yet.
Krassenstein spoke with Robyn Vincent about truck traffic in Detroit, the problems it causes, and how the city is working to alleviate the problem for residents who live near it.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
A 23-year-old Detroit man was ordered to serve 4-½ to 20 years in prison for his role in a stolen-vehicle ring in the region.
Jordan T. Gray received the sentence Wednesday from Macomb County Circuit Judge Anthony Servitto in Mount Clemens after admitting to participating in a criminal enterprise, aka racketeering, from April 2024 to April 2025 in Warren, according to court records.
The sentence was six months under the cap to which Servitto agreed in a deal reached with Gray through his attorney, Randy Rodnick.
Macomb prosecutors indicated they also will seek restitution from Gray, records say.
Gray was one of 11 people arrested as part of the ring that was responsible for the theft of over 400 vehicles worth approximately $8 million in Southeast Michigan by targeting storage lots, car dealerships, parking lots and residences, law enforcement officials said.
The ring was investigated by Troy Police Department Special Investigations Unit, in partnership with Macomb County Auto Theft Squad and the state Focused Organized Retail Crime Enforcement team. In addition, local police departments in individual communities pitched in, officials said.
Investigators said they utilized social media evidence, phone tracking and mapping, and surveillance of Gray to establish his involvement.
A search warrant executed at Gray’s residence produced evidence tying him to the operation, including numerous key fobs, a “significant amount” of cash, and a stolen Glock switch, officials said.
The cases of Gray’s 10 co-defendants have been prosecuted in courts in other counties.
Trial is scheduled in Oakland County Circuit Court for a former Wayne County official and her husband accused of pulling guns on a customer following a physical fight at a Farmington Hills gas station.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Feb. 23, 2026 for the cases against Alicia Bradford and her husband, Larry Bradford of Farmington Hills. Both face charges of assault with a dangerous weapon/felonious assault and using a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection with a New Year’s Day 2025 incident.
Alicia Bradford (Wayne County)
According to police reports and security video obtained under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act, the charges stem from an incident that happened just before 1 a.m. on Jan. 1 at a gas station on Orchard Lake Road.
A fight broke out between Larry Bradford and another customer who got involved after Bradford began arguing with the gas station clerk, accusing him of charging tax on a bottle of Mountain Dew, police said. Larry Bradford left the store and returned with a 9mm handgun and pointed it at the customer, demanding he get on his knees and apologize, and struck him. Alicia Bradford then entered the store armed with a firearm and pointed it at the customer, according to police.
In this still frame from surveillance video, Wayne County parks director Alicia Bradford points a handgun at an unidentified customer (far right, face digitally obstructed) after the man and Bradford's husband, Larry Bradford, got into a verbal and physical confrontation on Jan.1 over the price of a bottle of pop. (Farmington Hills Police Dept. via FOIA)
At the time of her arrest, Alicia Bradford was Wayne County’s parks and recreation director. She was suspended without pay after the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against her, and then resigned from her job in February.
Alicia Bradford and Larry Bradford are out of custody on $50,000 personal bonds, which require no cash or surety to be posted.
Assault with a dangerous weapon/felonious assault carries a penalty of up to four years in prison. Using a firearm in the commission of a felony is punishable by up to two years in prison.
A 69-year-old White Lake Township man was killed late Wednesday on Highland Road after being struck by a car driven by an 81-year-old man from Holly, officials said.
According to the White Lake Police Department, preliminary results of an ongoing investigation indicate the man was attempting to cross Highland Road near Legrand Boulevard when he was struck by the vehicle headed east on Highland Road. Alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the incident, police said.
Officers called to the scene at around 11:18 p.m. found the victim unresponsive and lying in the roadway, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police haven’t yet released the victim’s name.
Anyone with further information related to the crash is asked to contact White Lake Police Sgt. Brad Connell by phone at 248-698-4400 or by email at bconnelll@whitelakepolice.com.
This is the fourth fatality reported on Oakland County roadways in the past two days. On Wednesday morning, a Detroiter was killed after crashing his car in Bloomfield Township. Police suspect a medical emergency prior to or during the crash. And on Tuesday morning, a fiery crash on I-96 in Novi claimed the lives of two drivers — one from Westland and the other from California.
An Oakland County man is accused of using artificial intelligence to create pornographic images of a woman he was following on social media, then threatening to release them and assault her if she didn’t give him attention, a federal complaint claims.
Joshua Stilman, 36, of Commerce Township is accused by the FBI of interstate extortion and cyberstalking, according to a complaint filed last week in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan.
The victim is not named in the complaint but is described as a “social media influencer with close to 100,000 Instagram followers.”
In March, she allegedly received several explicit messages on Instagram from someone using the screenname FriendBlender, including AI-generated nude images of herself, according to court documents.
She initially tried to diffuse the situation with humor but FriendBlender eventually became more vulgar and threatened to release the images publicly if she did not respond to him, the lawsuit said. He also made threats against her safety, implying he would sexually assault her unless she responded.
“I wish you’d respond to some of my questions,” he said in one message, the FBI alleged. “I really don’t want to resort to posting things online … I’m not going to expect you to talk to me everyday or even that often. But I want to know some naughty things about you.”
In one message, FriendBlender sent his victim a link to a Google Drive collection of more AI-generated nude photos of her. However, according to the complaint, the link also displayed the name “Josh Stilman” in association with the Google account. The woman found that someone named Josh Stilman was following her Instagram account and had previously messaged her using an account with the screenname ThisDIYGuy.
According to court documents, the alleged victim then sent Stilman a message, asking, “Does your wife know you are messaging me.” He then allegedly blocked her from both of his Instagram accounts and deleted the Google-based photo album, as well as his LinkedIn page.
The influencer also contacted other women who have said Stilman threatened them, some as early as 2019, according to the complaint. One alleged victim said Stilman had posted pornographic videos of her online without her consent.
After she contacted law enforcement, investigators were able to allegedly link Stilman to the FriendBlender and ThisDIYGuy Instagram accounts and found that on several occasions he had visited websites that are used to create AI-generated pornography, the complaint said.
Since the incident, the influencer has removed identifying details about her life from her social media accounts and has started carrying a weapon due to fears about her safety, according to authorities.
According to online court records, Stilman made an initial appearance Tuesday before Magistrate Judge Anthony P. Patti and he was released after posting a $10,000 bond. A preliminary examination is scheduled for 1 p.m. Oct. 14.
Stilman’s attorney, Bradley J. Friendman, didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Video surveillance caught the liquid larceny: A man pulled a box truck behind a Minnesota strip mall in the wee hours in late October, got out, grabbed a hose and jammed it into a bin of used cooking oil outside Great Moon Buffet.
He siphoned nearly $800 worth of grease from the restaurant, pumping it into a storage container in the back of the truck and slipping away into the darkness, according to felony charges against the alleged culprit, who’s also accused of hitting up two other restaurants.
“I had never heard of anything like this before,” said Derek Fritze, a 10-year Maplewood police detective who investigated the case. “Apparently, it’s a big thing.”
But it’s not new, just more widespread as used cooking oil has become liquid gold over the past decade because it’s recycled for the production of biofuel, said Kent Swisher, president and CEO of the North American Renderers Association. He said thieves are stealing up to $80 million worth of the grease every year, up from $42 million in 2013.
“So, yeah, it’s across the country,” he said of the thievery. “And as prices have gotten stronger over time, you’d think the renderers would be happy. But it actually created more problems, because it created more people trying to steal it.”
Renderers and smaller businesses collect the oil from restaurants, who are compensated depending on the volume. It’s then processed and sold to refineries. Besides biofuel, it’s used as a nutritional additive in animal feed.
The global used cooking oil market is expanding rapidly. It was valued at $7 billion in 2023 and is expected to top $14 billion by 2033, according to market analysts.
A manager at Great Moon Buffet noticed the restaurant had only been getting about $15 a month — instead of the usual $600 to $700 — because the amount of used cooking oil in the barrel out back was low when picked up by Sanimax, a rendering company with a plant in South St. Paul.
So he put up surveillance cameras, which caught the illicit act going down just before 4 a.m. Oct. 23. Cameras got an image of the man’s face, and the back license plate of his white box truck. The manager reported the theft to police on Oct. 28.
Less than two weeks later, around 4:20 a.m. Nov. 7, police saw the truck parked outside a restaurant on Beam Avenue, the criminal complaint says. The driver denied stealing used oil from any restaurant. He said the truck belonged to his friends, and that he stopped in the parking lot because his truck was not working.
Police say they later matched the driver’s face to the man in the Great Moon Buffet surveillance video.
Sanimax gave police a list of other restaurants where surveillance cameras allegedly caught the same man stealing grease: New Hong Kong Wok in New Brighton about 6:30 a.m. on Aug. 10, 2024, and Peking Garden Restaurant in St. Paul around 4 a.m. eight days later.
Sanimax put the value of the oil stolen from the three restaurants at just over $3,600.
The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged the Minneapolis man with three counts of theft, two at the felony level. His attorney did not respond to the Pioneer Press’ requests for comment on the allegations.
Prevention tactics
Sanimax driver Jimmy Lee keeps an eye on a container full of grease as it is lifted and emptied into a recycling truck during a pickup in South St. Paul. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
On a recent weekday morning, a Sanimax driver pulled up to Concord Lanes and sucked out used cooking oil from a large bin on the side of the bowling alley. It’ll end up just down the road at the company’s South St. Paul plant, a remnant of the city’s stockyards and meatpacking days.
Mike Karman, Sanimax vice president of procurement, said used cooking oil theft has been a problem for at least a decade — mostly in larger metropolitan areas — and it’s been more prevalent in the Twin Cities over the past two summers compared to neighboring states.
“We see multiple different trucks, so we know it’s more than one actor,” he said of the local spate of thefts. “So I can say that there’s more than one truck running around doing it.”
To try to prevent the thievery, Sanimax puts its bins inside restaurants when there’s room or puts locks on them. “But the problem is,” Karman said, “most of these thieves, even if there is a lock on where you dump in the oil, they’ll just lift and bend up a corner of the lid and stick in a pipe to suck it out.”
Expensive anti-theft lids are also an option, although thieves are known to drill through the bin to get at the oil, he said.
Samimax also does its own surveillance, he said, without getting into the details.
Sanimax told police that man who took the Great Moon Buffet grease could be employed or contracted by rival recycling business Greasehauler. Sanimax did its own investigation and found the man’s truck parked at Greasehauler’s plant in Plato, Minn., several times.
Karman said he couldn’t get into all that, but added: “We take our business seriously, so when we see that there is theft, we utilize all of our resources.”
Greasehauler owner Lev Mirman, when contacted by the Pioneer Press, said he had never heard of the man charged in the Great Moon Buffet theft. He said he gets used cooking oil from several sources and that it’s possible someone gave him a fake name.
Karman said Sanimax does not buy grease from non-vetted suppliers, but there is no regulation stopping other processors from doing so.
Syndicates charged federally
Swisher, from the Virginia-based renderers association, said they started a task force in 2013 to try to get law enforcement to put more focus on the thefts “because at the time, everybody kind of giggled about stolen used cooking oil.”
That’s no longer the case, he said.
“It’s become such a big thing over the years that it’s even gotten the FBI’s attention. And some of the syndicates are quite large,” he said. “When you Google it, it’s kind of amazing how many stories pop up these days.”
The alleged capers range from a lone man with a single truck to an organized ring running a whole fleet.
A federal grand jury in North Carolina indicted 21 co-conspirators — including 12 from Mexico and one from Turkey — on several charges in 2019 for allegedly stealing nearly $4 million worth of used cooking oil over five years. The ring operated across North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, storing the stolen grease in a warehouse, the indictment says.
In December, a federal grand jury in western New York announced the indictment of six New York men for allegedly stealing at least 90,000 pounds of used grease from restaurants in and around Rochester. They sold the oil to a broker, who sold it to a refinery in Erie, Pennsylvania, the indictment says.
Swisher said his association disbanded their task force after renderers started taking theft precautions. Many now have cameras, hire private investigators and offer cash rewards to try to catch the thieves. He knows of at least one renderer that puts electronic anti-theft devices on its bins that sense when the oil is being stolen and alerts police or private investigators.
An apology, cash offer
Peking Garden co-owner Teresa Nguyen said she didn’t know someone stole their grease last year. But that wasn’t the case five years ago at their former University Avenue location, when she caught a guy siphoning oil from a bin they shared with a neighboring restaurant, Golden Gate Cafe.
She thought at first he was a Sanimax driver collecting the grease. But then he “looked afraid” and apologized, she said, and offered her $100 cash on the spot to not call the police.
She refused, told him it wasn’t just her oil. She asked him to go to Golden Gate and explain what he had done because both restaurants had been noticing the Sanimax compensation checks were smaller than usual.
The man left in his box truck, but didn’t go to Golden Gate. The theft went unreported to police.
“Honestly, we have a lot of customers in the cities that we know get stolen from, but we can’t quite quantify it because a lot of times they don’t take all of it,” said Karman, of Sanimax. “But then the customer goes, ‘Oh, my checks are half the size they used to be. I wonder why.’ And then they just go on to doing something else and don’t report it.”
Sanimax driver Jimmy Lee uses a hose to empty grease from a container into a recycling truck during one of his stops in South St. Paul on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. Cooking oil recyclers, like South St. Paul-based Sanimax, have reported people stealing grease from their collection containers. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
A new magistrate has been appointed to the bench at 51st District Court in Waterford Township.
At its Sept. 22 meeting, the Waterford Township Board of Trustees approved the appointment of attorney Roberto Bihar to the role of magistrate. He assumes duties at the court on Oct. 15.
Roberto Behar (photo provided)
According to officials, Roberto was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and moved to the San Fernando Valley in California in 1982, then relocated to Michigan in 1996.
Bihar and his wife have lived in Waterford since 2000, raising their five children. The family is actively involved in Waterford’s soccer community, officials said.
Bihar began his legal career in 2009 as law clerk for 52-2 District Judge Joseph Fabrizio. He continues to serve as a public defender for its sobriety court program. In 2014, he opened his law practice, specializing in criminal and probate law.
Bihar graduated cum laude from Cooley Law School in 2012. He earned his bachelor of arts degree from Madonna University, majoring in Spanish and criminal justice, officials said.
Bihar holds membership in the Oakland County Bar Associations and the Knights of Columbus Council, and is a parishioner at St. Perpetua Catholic Church in Waterford, officials said.
Two people died following a fiery crash early Tuesday morning on I-96 in Novi, officials said.
The Novi Police Department identified the victims as Sylvette Campbell, 57, of Westland and Neena Wang, 30, of California.
According to Novi Police Commander Kristie Gruenwald, a preliminary investigation indicates Wang was in an Acura sedan stopped in the left lane of eastbound I-96 near the Beck Road exit due to a malfunction with the driver-side front tire when Campbell, driving a Kia Soul eastbound on I-96 rear-ended the Acura. Both vehicles caught fire and both drivers were killed. Neither car had passengers.
When police and firefighters arrived on the scene shortly after 2 a.m., both vehicles were fully-engulfed in flames, Gruenwald said.
Traffic was rerouted and the stretch of freeway was shut down for several hours after the crash, but by 9:30 a.m. the freeway was reopened and traffic appeared to be flowing as usual.
The Novi Police Department is leading the crash investigation with assistance from Michigan State Police and will provide further information as the investigation progresses, Gruenwald said. Autopsy and toxicology reports on the victims are pending.
Gruenwald said her department extends its deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of both drivers.
I-96 approaching Beck Road in Novi
file photo (Stephen Frye/MediaNews Group)
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