Arraignment in teen's murder • Pistons put assistant GM on leave • Melvindale bakery busted for drugs
Southfield man to be arraigned in murder of Detroit teen found dead on side of highway
Family of Taya Land, a 17-year-old who was found dead on the side of I-94 are still unsure what led to their daughter's murder. They're hoping to get more answers Friday when a 20-year-old Southfield man is expected to be arraigned in connection with the crime.
FRIDAY NEWS HIT - A 20-year-old Southfield man is expected in court Friday to face formal charges after he was arrested in connection with the death of a 17-year-old Detroit teen, who was found with a gunshot wound on the side of the highway.
The Macomb County Prosecutor authorized charges against the man Thursday and he's expected to be arraigned on two charges. He's not been identified by police.
When he appears in court, it will be the first look that family of Taya Land will get of the individual suspected of murdering their daughter. They're still not sure what led to her death.
The charges come a week after Land's body was found in the culvert of I-94 near Eight Mile in St. Clair Shores. Her body was found with a gunshot wound to the head.
Police believe she was killed around 3:45 a.m. after a call of shots fired came in near the location the body was discovered.
MORE: Arrest made in 17-year-old found shot in the head on I-94 in St. Clair Shores
Family told FOX 2 they had been praying for justice in the case. Land leaves behind a 1-year-old daughter.
Find more info on the gruesome murder here.
Detroit Pistons put assistant general manager on leave
Detroit Pistons assistant general manager Rob Murphy was put on leave due to an investigation, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday night on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
ESPN reported Murphy is facing an allegation of workplace misconduct involving a former female employee. Murphy was promoted to assistant general manager in June after serving as president and general manager of the G League’s Motor City Cruise, which is affiliated with the Pistons, for nearly two years.
He was Eastern Michigan’s basketball coach from 2011 to 2021 and had a 166-155 record. Previously, he was an assistant coach at Syracuse and Kent State. A message seeking comment was left with Murphy, and the Pistons declined comment.
Rob Murphy, assistant general manager of the Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons play the New York Knicks on the road Friday night after opening the season with a win over the Orlando Magic.
— Courtesy of the Associated Press
Melvindale bakery allegedly sold drugs causing deadly overdose, police raid
A Melvindale bakery was busted for dealing drugs according to police. Michigan State Troopers raided the business after someone overdosed and died. Prescription pills, cold hard cash, and a lot of high-end jewelry was the haul from a home in Melvindale as well as Joseph’s Bakery and Grill.
According to authorities you could score suboxone and sabaya, pizza and percocets. MSP says the target of their investigation - a 31-year-old man - was directly involved in a fatal overdose and peddled prescription drugs out of the restaurant.
"My heart goes out to the family that lost their child and it’s just really unfortunate that it happened so close to home," said a woman who works at a neighboring restaurant. She and a co-worker say they never could’ve imagined state troopers would execute a search warrant at the low key bakery and grill next door.
"All the guys, the manpower coming in and out of here searching for things," she said. "I can’t believe what they found." Or that the man who runs the place would be involved in a drug investigation.
More on the Melvindale bakery here
Former Detroit cop pleads guilty in towing scandal
A former Detroit police officer pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiring with a DPD lieutenant to commit bribery with corruption in the towing scandal.
Daniel Vickers, 54, of Livonia, spent his career as a police officer in Detroit and during his plea hearing, admitted to conspiring with Detroit police Lieutenant John F. Kennedy, according to a release from the US Attorney's Office.
Former Detroit police officer Daniel Vickers
Based on his conviction for bribery conspiracy, Vickers faces a maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. Kennedy pleaded guilty to the bribery conspiracy in August 2022.
The two conspired to commit bribery by accepting money and other items of value in exchange for Kennedy using and promising to use his influence as a supervisor to persuade other officers to make referrals to a towing company in violation of the city’s ordinance and Detroit police policy.
Read a deeper dive into the towing scandal here.
Ballot proposals on Let It Rip
By now, you've probably seen ads for and against Props 1, 2, and 3. It can get a bit dizzying being pelted by so many messages. FOX 2 discussed all three on Let It Rip Thursday night when Democratic state Sen. Adam Hollier and Oakland County Chair Rocky Raczkowski debated the ballot measurse.
The first will alter term limits and increase financial transparency, the second expands voter rights, while the third would legalize abortion in Michigan.
All three have their own hot button themes that have fed an already busy election cycle in the state and many experts believe will only drive up turnout in the state. It's not clear if that helps or hurts either party.
But it does increase the significance of what's on the ballot. Here's more information on what voters will see when they cast their ballot.
Live on FOX 2
Daily Forecast
This weekend really will be the best if someone wants to check a few activities off the fall bucket list. Sun, low 70s, and some clouds will be all that's in the sky Saturday and Sunday.
What else we're watching
- The city of Dearborn is hosting an expungement fair for its citizens Friday from 12 to 4 p.m. It'll be held at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center. Find more information here.
- The annual stormwater summit returns to Oakland County for a regional presentation on infrastructure and environmental solutions to one of the biggest issues facing cities in the Midwest: urban flooding. The $25 registration fee gets you full access to the summit, which is held at Lawrence Technology University.
- And speaking of water, lawmakers will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act on the Huron River in Ann Arbor Friday. Using the Rouge River as the historical backdrop for what happens when dirty water goes unregulated, officials will highlight what the law has done for the river locally and other water bodies nationally.
- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has established a juvenile residential facilities advisory committee which will make recommendations on how to improve the incarceration system that services youth in Michigan. The task force will be housed in Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
- Tudor Dixon is also on the campaign trail this week. Among the officials who will be speaking and endorsing the Republican nominee is a former Democrat: Tulsi Gabbard, who previously represented Hawaii in Congress.
Mississippi town with Confederate monument gets Emmett Till statue
A Mississippi community with an elaborate Confederate monument plans to unveil a larger-than-life statue of Emmett Till on Friday, decades after white men kidnapped and killed the Black teenager for allegedly whistling at a white woman in a country store.
The 1955 lynching became a catalyst for the civil rights movement after Till's mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, insisted on an open-casket funeral in Chicago so the world could see the horrors inflicted on her 14-year-old son. Jet magazine published photos of his mutilated body, which had been pulled from the Tallahatchie River in Mississippi.
The 9-foot (2.7-meter) bronze statue in Greenwood is a jaunty depiction of the living Till in slacks, a dress shirt and a tie with one hand on the brim of a hat.