Crime
Crime
Former assistant attorney general pleads no contest to willful neglect
June 10th, 20210 LANSING — A former assistant attorney general has pleaded no contest to two counts of willful neglect of duty by a public officer. Brian Kolodziej resigned after admitting to a relationship with a victim in a rape case and was also the lead prosecutor on another controversial sex crimes case in September 2019. Kolodziej was...
Teacher accused of sexually molesting visually impaired 8-year-olds in Garden City, Livonia schools
June 10th, 20210 LIVONIA/GARDEN CITY — A teacher and vision specialist is accused of molesting two legally blind 8-year-old girls a year apart in 2018 and 2019. According to a federal lawsuit filed this week, James Baird allegedly placed occluders — goggles that allow no light — over the eyes of two visually impaired girls and sexually...
Four members of a Muslim family killed in a “hate-motivated” attack
June 7th, 20210 OTTAWA — A family of five was run down in London, Ontario on Sunday night by the driver of a pickup truck who, police say, chose his victims because they were Muslim. Police said a man in a black pickup truck drove up on a curb and mowed down a family standing on the sidewalk as they were waiting to cross the street. The victims...
Dearborn man faces felony charges after stomping bird to death at Allen Park pet store
May 27th, 20210 ALLEN PARK — A 22-year-old Dearborn man has been charged with third-degree animal killing after striking and stomping a bird to death at a pet store. Ali Chehade was charged in Wayne County with third-degree animal killing, a felony punishable by up to four years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. Chehade is accused of...
Dearborn Heights man accused of strangling mother to death
May 6th, 20210 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — A man is accused of strangling his mother to death just one month after she asked a judge to release him when he was charged with assaulting her. Aaron Samir Akel, 45, of Dearborn Heights was originally arrested on Nov. 2 and charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm and misdemeanor domestic...
Dearborn police seeking help identifying a murder suspect
May 5th, 20210 DEARBORN — Dearborn police responded to the area of Oakman and Michigan Ave. at approximately 9 p.m. on Tuesday May 4 on a report of a shooting. Officers who responded found that a 24-year-old man had been shot several times and eventually succumbed to his injuries at Beaumont-Oakwood Hospital. A second subject was also...
Hamtramck man charged in sexual assault of Detroit girl
April 22nd, 20210 DETROIT — According to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, a Hamtramck man has been charged with the sexual assault of a young Detroit girl. Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged Fsle Saoeh, 38, of Hamtramck, with two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the fourth degree on Tuesday. A fourth degree criminal sexual conduct charge has a...
Derek Chauvin found guilty of all charges in the death of George Floyd
April 20th, 20210 MINNEAPOLIS — Former police officer Derek Chauvin has been found guilty of all charges in the death of George Floyd last May. The 12 jurors found Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's death on May 25. Floyd died after Chauvin had knelt on his neck...
Charges announced against State Rep. Jewell Jones
April 16th, 20211 LANSING - State Rep. Jewell Jones (D-Inkster) was arraigned on charges brought forth after a vehicle incident in Livingston County on April 6. According to several reports, Jones was so confrontational after drunkenly driving his vehicle into a ditch on I-96, that state troopers had to use a taser and pepper spray on him. The...
Former Dearborn employee accused of embezzlement, faces four felony charges
April 16th, 20210 DEARBORN — Cheryl Salwa, a former employee of the city of Dearborn Engineering Division, is facing four felony charges stemming from accusations of embezzlement. The division is part of the city’s Public Works Department. According to information available to The Arab American News, Salwa was accused of embezzlement approximately...
Officer charged with second-degree manslaughter in Daunte Wright killing
April 14th, 20210 BROOKLYN CENTER, MN — The police officer who authorities say shot and killed Daunte Wright after a traffic stop has been arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter. The officer, Kim Potter, resigned earlier this week and is now being charged in the shooting death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright. At the time of the...
Garden City man charged with murder of Detroit police officer granted bond
April 8th, 20211 DETROIT — A Garden City man charged in the shooting death of his domestic partner, an off duty Detroit police officer, was granted bond. Eddie Ray-Jr. Johnson was charged with the killing of Elaine Williams in their home on June 2, 2019 in Garden City. Officers had arrived at the home in the 200 block of Belton Street at 11:45...State Rep. Jewell Jones reportedly facing felony, misdemeanor charges following vehicle accident
April 7th, 20210 INKSTER — Sources have reported that Michigan State Representative Jewell Jones is awaiting arraignment following a vehicle accident. Jones (D-Inkster), represents the 11th District, which is all of Garden City and Inkster and portions of Dearborn Heights, Livonia and Westland. He is 25-years-old and reportedly facing multiple...
Detroit man charged with terrorism threat against Detroit police officers
April 5th, 20210 DETROIT - Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has charged 60-year-old Bernard Smith of Detroit in connection with making terrorist threats against Detroit police. On April 2 at approximately 1:02 p.m., Detroit police officers responded to a parking complaint for the defendant’s vehicles in a vacant lot across from a residence in the...
Update: Dearborn man charged with 15 counts in stabbing incident at Detroit hookah lounge
March 24th, 20210 DETROIT — Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has charged Taha Shitawi, 34, of Dearborn, with 15 counts in the stabbing of five people, a 32-year-old man, two 31-year-old men, a 25-year-old man, all of Dearborn, and a 29-year-old woman, of Shelby Township, in a violent incident at Taiga Hookah Lounge in Detroit, Sunday......
Pontiac grocer to pay $95,000 in back wages following federal investigation
March 22nd, 20211 PONTIAC — An investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor found that a Pontiac grocer owed 14 employees more than $95,000 in overtime back wages. The investigation found that the employer of the Carnival Market did not properly pay cashiers, bakers and dishwashers their legally earned wages and now must pay a total of...
Former Hazel Park police detective charged with embezzling public asset forfeiture funds
February 18th, 20210 LANSING — Multiple felony charges have been filed against a former Hazel Park police detective who is accused of conducting a criminal enterprise. Sean Boucher, 45, of Warren, is also accused of embezzling more than $65,000 in public asset forfeiture funds. Boucher was arraigned on Feb. 18 in Oakland County’s 43rd District...
Cops under investigation for brutal attack on NJ Arab American teen
February 15th, 20212 NEW JERSEY — Arab American Osamah Alsaidi of Paterson, New Jersey is seeking justice after being brutalized by police officers in a seemingly unprovoked attack in December, when he was 19-years-old. At least two officers are now under investigation for the violent incident that left Alsaidi with head trauma and a concussion. The...
Arraignment and arrest made in a school threat case from 2020
February 5th, 20210 DEARBORN HEIGHTS - In a press release issued by the Dearborn Heights Police Department, an arraignment was made in a school threat case from January 2020. Resident Tariq Fahad Almousa was arraigned in the 20th District Court on criminal charges that were authorized by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office in response to threats of......
Dearborn Police investigating non-Fatal shooting at MAYA
February 3rd, 20210 DEARBORN — The Dearborn Police Department is looking for help identifying persons of interest who may have been involved in a shooting at MAYA. The incident occurred on Monday, Feb. 1 at approximately 11 p.m. when officers responded to the Muslim American Youth Academy (MAYA), located at 19500 Ford Rd. in Dearborn, after learning...
FBI offering $75,000 for information on D.C. pipe bomb suspect
January 21st, 20210 The FBI is offering a public reward for tips that lead to the “location, arrest and conviction” of the person or persons responsible for planting pipe bombs near the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on Jan 6. The reward is set at $75,000 and was originally set at $50,000. The FBI’s Washington Field Office posted the......
Police: Nashville blast suspect died in explosion, motives still unknown
December 28th, 20200 NASHVILLE – The 63-year-old suspect in the bombing that rocked Nashville Christmas morning was killed in the blast that destroyed his motor home and damaged more than 40 businesses, authorities said on Sunday. FBI forensic experts matched DNA samples recovered from the scene to that of Anthony Q. Warner, whose home in...
Man shot during robbery at Fairlane Mall
December 21st, 20200 DEARBORN — A popular Dearborn mall became the scene of holiday violence on Monday. The Dearborn Police Department said that at around 5:50 p.m., a man was shot after an attempted robbery outside of the Fairlane Town Center. The shooting was non-fatal and the victim was transported to an area hospital where he is currently listed......
