Michigan Criminal Lawyers Blog

September 10, 2015

Wisconsin Man’s Conviction in Wife’s Antifreeze Poisoning Death Overturned by Appeals Court

In 1998, Julie Jensen was found dead in the Pleasant Prairie home she shared with her husband, Mark Jensen, and their two children. Initially the death was thought to be a suicide, however in 2007 Mark Jensen was put on trial for first-degree intentional homicide for allegedly poisoning his wife with antifreeze. In February 2008, Jensen was sentenced to life in prison at the Kenosha County, WI Courthouse.

On Tuesday, September 8 of this year, Jensen won an appeal overturning his conviction for the death of his wife, however according to news reports he remains in prison while prosecutors decide whether to retry him for the death of Julie Jensen.

At issue was the admission of a handwritten note from Jensen’s wife that was improperly accepted into evidence, according to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The note said, “if anything happens to me, he would be my first suspect.” Appeals court judges, in a 2-1 decision, said that use of the letter by prosecutors violated the defendant’s constitutional right to face his accusers. The letter was written two weeks prior to Julie’s death, according to news reports.

September 8, 2015

20-year-old Newark Man Faces Criminal Charges After Selling Drugs from His Home

by Scott Grabel

Late last week, a 20-year-old Newark man was arrested after Delaware State Police found drugs and other items in his home. Police believe that Joshua Gaines, who lives in the 200 block of Smithmill Road, was selling marijuana and other substances after searching the home.

Police began investigating Gaines after allegations began to surface that he was selling drugs from his home. Upon searching the residence, investigators claim to have found more than 10 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, five pounds of marijuana, 47 prescription drug pills (oxycodone), several weapons including a 12 gauge shotgun, AR-15 assault rifle, and sawed-off shotgun, and more than $2,000 in cash which authorities suspect is proceeds from the sale of drugs.

Gaines is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a destructive weapon, two counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance in tier 2 quantity, two counts of possession of a deadly weapon by a person prohibited, possession of a controlled substance in a tier 2 quantity, and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. After posting $10,200 bail, Gaines was released.

September 8, 2015

Labor Day Weekend High Speed Chase Results in 4th DUI Arrest in One Year for Allegan Man

by Scott Grabel

On Saturday, September 5 an Allegan man led sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed chase in Van Buren County in Michigan after the man allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign and was observed driving in a reckless manner, according to a news article at Mlive.com. The man’s name was not revealed, although he is now facing numerous charges.

Police say the man was on probation for three DUI arrests over the past year. Deputies attempted to pull the man, who was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Silverado, over at just after 9:30 p.m. The driver of the truck reportedly reached speeds of over 70 mph as the chase ensued in a southbound direction on M-40, with the driver crossing the center line at one point to such an extent it forced a vehicle driving in a northbound direction off the road.

Eventually, the truck ended up at a Village Market parking lot after jumping a curb into a grassy area. Once the vehicle came to a stop, deputies ordered the driver out of the truck, however he refused and was removed by deputies. A news release issued by the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office revealed that a nearly empty bottle of whiskey and two open cans of beer were found inside the truck by deputies. The driver’s blood alcohol content was found to be 0.22 percent, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08 percent in Michigan.

September 4, 2015

23-year-old Woman Arrested for Violent Stabbing Death of Elderly Ypsilanti Man in March

by Scott Grabel

On March 26th of this year, a 71-year-old Ypsilanti man was found dead in his home, apparently a victim of a stabbing. Now, a 23-year-old woman has been arrested in the stabbing according to a recent news article at Mlive.com.

Gary Schneider, the victim, was reportedly stabbed numerous times in the neck and head area after it is believed he and the suspect became involved in a violent discussion. Haleigh Maynard has been charged and arraigned on a single count of open murder in Schneider’s death. No details regarding the circumstances of the argument or the killing have been released.

The victim’s body was discovered in his home when a woman who lived in the area found Schneider’s wallet on a sidewalk and tried to return it. The door of his home was open, and vehicles in the driveway. When the woman received no response, she called police.

September 3, 2015

Saginaw Man Charged with DUI Crash that Killed Taxi Driver Faces Trial

by Scott Grabel

Recently it was announced that 29-year-old Jon M. Brown of Saginaw will go to trial in December on charges that he caused the death of a taxi driver and serious injury to another person in a crash on I-75 near East North Union Road in Monitor Township in May of this year. Brown was allegedly intoxicated when the accident occurred, and reportedly had a blood alcohol content of 0.105.

The victim who died, 54-year-old Barry E. Campbell, was driving his taxi along with a passenger whom he had picked up in Frankenmuth at the World Expo of Beer and was taking to Midland County. Brown, who was driving a Chevrolet Impala at the time, was allegedly driving in the wrong direction on I-75 when the two vehicles crashed head-on. Campbell’s passenger, Benjamin Martinson, was riding in the front passenger seat of the taxi when the crash occurred. Police reports state that upon arriving at the scene, deputies had a hard time finding Campbell because of the compressed damage to the passenger side of the vehicle.

While Campbell died from the injuries he sustained, Martinson suffered fractures to his pelvis and both legs, a ruptured bladder, collapsed right lung, and lacerations to his spleen and liver. Brown has been charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing serious injury, and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing death. He remains in jail on a $250,000 bond.

September 1, 2015

Arizona Men Face Drug Charges Following Traffic Stop in Oklahoma

by Scott Grabel

On Saturday, August 22, two Arizona men were arrested by deputies with the Canadian County Sheriff’s Dept. in Oklahoma after being pulled over for driving erratically on Interstate 40.

56-year-old Rafael Luna of Glendale and 50-year-old Jose Lopez of Phoenix told the deputies they were on their way to Missouri for a graduation, that Luna’s son was graduating from U.S. Army basic training. Deputies became suspicious when the two men’s stories seemed inconsistent. They were ultimately arrested after detectives had a drug sniffing canine brought to the scene to sniff around the vehicle, and found black-tar heroin and cocaine in the trunk of the Mercedes Benz the suspects were traveling in.

According to NewsOn6.com, 1.2 pounds of black-tar heroin was found in the vehicle, along with 15 pounds of cocaine. The drugs were located under the spare tire after ‘Pickles’ (the dog) alerted to the trunk area. Both men were taken into custody immediately. Luna is a fourth-grade teacher, and admitted that his summer job was hauling drugs for extra money. Lopez told investigators he had recruited Luna, and that he had been recruited himself to haul drugs; he works as a mechanic.

August 31, 2015

Beloit Bicyclist Killed in Car Collision, Suspected Drunk Driver Arrested

by Scott Grabel

On Saturday August 29 at approximately 1:45 in the morning, a 43-year-old Beloit man, Mario Esquivel-Flores, died at an area hospital after becoming involved in a collision with a car on Milwaukee Road. At the time of news reports, an investigation into the man’s death was ongoing by the Rock County medical examiner and the City of Beloit Police Department. Esquivel-Flores died due to the serious injuries sustained in the accident.

A more recent news article at the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel claims that police have made an arrest in the case, and that a 29-year-old Clinton man whose vehicle collided with the bicycle was intoxicated at the time of the crash. Police arrested the man, whose name was not released, on suspicion of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle. According to police, the man’s blood alcohol level was over the legal limit of .08 percent.

It is not clear whether the driver of the vehicle will face additional charges; Esquivel-Flores was allegedly riding his bicycle in the road without any lights when he was struck by the car.

August 28, 2015

Detroit Police Officer Charged in Drive-by Shooting at Assisted Living Facility

by Scott Grabel

On Tuesday, August 25, a Detroit Police Officer who had been suspended after being accused of a drive-by shooting at a Ray Township assisted-living home was sentenced to prison. Clifford E. Gullion now faces a minimum of three years in prison, and termination from the Detroit Police Dept. is underway, according to a news article at Mlive.com.

Gullion allegedly opened fire on the assisted-living facility located near 29 Mile and Romeo Plank in April using a .40-caliber gun. He had been on medical leave from the police department for several months at the time the incident occurred. No one was hit by the gunfire.

The motive for the shooting appeared to be a dispute Gullion’s wife had with the husband of a patient living at the home; his wife is an in-home caretaker.

August 26, 2015

Lakeside Home Searched, Two Women Arrested on Drug Charges

by Scott Grabel

On Tuesday, August 25, two Lakeside, CA women were arrested after authorities found marijuana, methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and ammunition inside a home located on Wintercrest Drive, according to a CBS news report.

The drugs were seized when sheriff’s deputies from the Santee station served a search warrant at the residence. An undisclosed amount of cash was also found in the home, according to an article at The San Diego Union-Tribune.

The suspects, 52-year-old Kristina Duerksen and 53-year-old Robin Faulkner, were arrested at the scene and charged with sales of controlled substances, possession and sale of drugs and drug paraphernalia, maintaining a place for trafficking in controlled substances, manufacturing a controlled substance by chemical extraction, and being a felon in possession of ammunition. Duerksen and Faulkner were booked into Las Colinas Detention Facility.

August 25, 2015

Catholic Cardinal Charged with DUI While Visiting Big Island of Hawaii

by Scott Grabel

On Thursday, August 20, 79-year-old Cardinal William Joseph Levada of Menlo Park was charged with driving under the influence while vacationing on the Big Island of Hawaii with priest friends, according to a recent article at the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.

A police spokeswoman said that Levada was alone and was driving a Nissan Altima at the time he was pulled over for swerving while headed in a northbound direction on Queen Kaahumanu Highway. While news reports did not reveal Levada’s blood alcohol content, the threshold for legal intoxication in Hawaii is 0.08 percent, the same threshold as in many states in the U.S.

Levada said in a statement emailed to The Huffington Post that he regretted his error in judgment, and intended to cooperate fully with authorities. He was formerly the highest ranking American official in the Vatican.