Michigan Criminal Lawyers Blog

July 27, 2015

New Orleans Police Officer Arrested for Drunken Driving, Placed on Immediate Suspension

On July 26, 31-year-old Thomas Ripp was placed on emergency suspension from the New Orleans Police Department after crashing his unmarked police car while allegedly intoxicated in Lake Vista, according to several news reports.

Ripp was assigned to the Homicide Division, and has been with the department for eight years. He was off-duty when he crashed into a cement light pole after striking a curb at approximately 5:40 a.m. on Sunday, according to police.

Although results of a blood test conducted on Ripp were not revealed, NOPD spokesman Tyler Gamble said that Ripp did test over the legal limit for alcohol. He was treated for minor injuries which were not disclosed at a local hospital before being advised of his rights and arrested. No one was in the vehicle with Ripp when the accident occurred.

July 23, 2015

Dallas Man Charged with Manufacture or Delivery of Controlled Substance Following Police Chase

by Scott Grabel

On Friday July 17, a 50-year-old man was arrested in the Dallas area following a police chase that resulted in drug charges.

According to The Dallas Morning News crime blog, Jose Lopez led Mesquite police on a car chase after police spotted him near Belt Line Road and U.S. Highway 80 and attempted to stop the drug suspect. Lt. Brian Parrish, a police spokesman for the Mesquite department, said that Lopez fled from police in a pickup, driving to a neighborhood north of Fair Park. During the chase, Lopez jumped from the pickup, which was still moving. The truck crashed into a fence while Lopez ran on foot.

Eventually a Department of Public Safety helicopter tracked Lopez down, and he was apprehended and arrested by police. At the time of news reports he was being held on $12,500 bail, and had been booked on one count each of manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance and evading arrest in a vehicle. News reports do not indicate what drug or drugs were involved.

July 20, 2015

Long Island Limo Crash Caused by Drunk Driver Ends in Tragedy as Four Bridesmaids Killed

by Scott Grabel

On Saturday July 18, four women were killed and two other seriously injured in a crash involving a limo and a pickup truck, according to a news report at CBS News. The crash occurred in the North Fork of Long Island in Cutchogue; it is believed the driver of the truck was intoxicated. He was arrested following the crash that left the limo nearly cut in half.

The limo was carrying seven women who had just left a local Winery following a bachelorette party. The vehicle was headed eastbound on Route 48 when it was struck by the pickup as it attempted to make a U-turn in a westbound direction. All four of the women who were killed were bridesmaids, and three died on impact while the fourth died later at Taconic Bay Hospital.

The bride and another woman were also in the limo when the crash occurred; both were said to be in critical condition. The man driving the pickup truck, whose name has not been released, was hospitalized for minor injuries to his face.

July 17, 2015

Ferndale Man to Go to Trial on Charges of Felony Assault in Alleged Beating of Friend Over Electric Fan

by Scott Grabel

In late June, 56-year-old Mitchell Moore of Ferndale was charged with assault with intent to cause great bodily harm less than murder when he allegedly beat a friend using a wooden table leg after the two became involved in an argument over an electric fan. According to an article at The Oakland Press, the charge against Moore has now been reduced to felony assault.

On June 27, police were called to a residence on McDowell when it was suspected Moore had attacked a friend. Moore rents an upstairs apartment in the home, and he and the homeowner had allegedly been drinking the day the attack occurred. One of Moore’s friends, a 53-year-old Hazel park man, stopped by the residence to pick up an electric fan he had let Moore borrow. The fan was the man’s mother’s, and she wanted it back. According to police, when the Hazel Park many went upstairs to Moore’s apartment to retrieve his mother’s fan, an argument erupted.
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July 16, 2015

South Carolina Woman’s Appeal of 2012 Murder Conviction Denied

by Scott Grabel

In 2012, Brenda Miles Bratschi of Columbia, SC was convicted of the 2004 murder of her estranged husband, Randy Bratschi. The Bratschi’s lived in a mobile home where the defendant allegedly buried her husband’s body under the home, leaving new owners of the property to find the skeletal remains five years later. According to a news report at SCNow.com, Randy’s remains were found wrapped in a tarp in a shallow grave.

In November of 2004 the couple allegedly had a violent altercation before Randy Bratschi mysteriously disappeared. The couple was involved in a domestic dispute about six weeks prior to the victim’s disappearance in which Brenda reportedly beat her husband with a wooden tire thumper. He was severely injured at that time, and his wife arrested on charges of assault and battery with intent to kill. She was also served a restraining order at that time.
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July 14, 2015

Georgia Man Arrested on Drug, Gun Charges after Patrol Officers Hear Loud Music

by Scott Grabel

Recently, a 28-year-old Georgia man was arrested in Delaware after police in Bear were conducting property checks and came across the man as a result of hearing loud music.

According to a news report at Delawareonline.com, Cordeiro McClain of Ellenwood, GA was in the area of the Sparrow Run neighborhood off U.S. 40. Police officers were conducting increased patrols in specific neighborhoods following their weekly Targeted Analytical Policing Systems meeting. Officer First Class Tracey Duffy said that as they approached the vehicle, which was parked at a dead end, officers saw that the driver’s seat was empty and McClain was sitting in the front passenger seat. Another person came out of a nearby residence as police were talking to McClain, claiming the radio in the car was broken.

July 13, 2015

MSU Basketball Player Suspended Following DUI Arrest

by Scott Grabel

Recently, an MSU basketball player who transferred to Michigan from West Virginia was suspended from the team indefinitely after being arrested for DUI. According to the Lansing State Journal, 21-year-old Eron Harris, originally from Indianapolis, is facing charges of refusing a preliminary breath test and OWI (operating while intoxicated).

Harris’s suspension stems from an incident on July 1 when he was arrested at just before 2 a.m. after playing with the team at Lansing’s Moneyball Pro-Am summer league. His arraignment is scheduled for July 17.

Harris is a junior guard on the team, and sat out last season after transferring from West Virginia to MSU. In a statement Tom Izzo, MSU coach said Harris had been suspended from all activities related to basketball indefinitely, and that the university holds its student-athletes to high standards. Izzo went on to say that Eron must face the consequences of the legal system for his actions, and that his decisions that morning were unacceptable and irresponsible.

July 9, 2015

Enrique Iglesias Scheduled to Appear in Court July 10 on Charges of Obstruction, Driving with Suspended License

by Scott Grabel

A recent NBC Miami news article says that singer Enrique Iglesias is scheduled to appear in court on July 10 after he was charged with obstruction and driving on a suspended license on May 6.

Iglesias was pulled over by Florida Highway Patrol in Miami-Dade County after he was spotted driving a Cadillac Escalade in the closed express lanes of Interstate 95. A trooper claims that in the process of being pulled over, a passenger in the SUV moved into the driver’s seat after Iglesias jumped into the back of the vehicle. He then climbed into the passenger seat, although FHP Lt. Julio Pajon said that Mr. Iglesias was the one driving the vehicle when the incident occurred.

The passenger in the SUV, Abel Tabuyo, said he did not know why he switched seats with the singer. Both men were handcuffed, and released after signing notices to appear in court. Iglesias invoked his Miranda rights, and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

July 7, 2015

Four Arrested in Smithfield Township Drug Bust

by Scott Grabel

On Thursday, July 2, four people were arrested after a search warrant was executed at a residence in Smithfield Township. The search warrant resulted from an investigation that started in 2014, and was executed by Pennsylvania State Police in conjunction with the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office and Monroe County Children and Youth Services, along with Monroe County Domestic Relations.

The four individuals arrested include 48-year-old Denise Miluszewski and her son, 28-year-old William Miluszewski, 45-year-old Richard Leepin, and 29-year-old Donna Wynings.

Denise Miluszewski was reportedly in a rehab facility for an alleged heroin addiction when investigators learned that her son, William, was “running” the drug business while she was in rehab last year. Three young children lived at the address where the search warrant was executed; all have been placed in foster care.

July 6, 2015

Chairman of Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee Arrested for DUI, Seeks Help

by Scott Grabel

On July 1, 44-year-old Senator Cam Ward, R-Alabaster and chairman of the Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence. Ward said on Thursday that he would be seeking professional help after using alcohol as a ‘crutch’ to deal with stress, which resulted in his making what he said were “incredibly reckless decisions.”

According to a news article at the Times Free Press, a call was received at just before 1 p.m. by the Alabaster Police Department regarding a suspected drunk driver on Alabama 119. Not long after, Ward was stopped by an officer just a few miles away at a city ballpark. Police Chief Curtis Rigney said during a brief news conference that Ward failed field sobriety tests that were administered, and “exhibited signs of intoxication.” No details of the arrest were available at the time of news reports; Rigney declined to answer questions regarding the senator’s blood alcohol content. Ward did spend the night in the Shelby County Jail before being freed on $1,000 bond the next day.

Ward had been visiting a vocational school in Bibb County just hours prior to his arrest, and posted a photo of himself during the visit on social media. His vehicle was impounded according to police reports. Prior to his DUI arrest, Ward pleaded guilty to two speeding tickets, one in 1997 and one in 2007.