Crumbley parents ask for release from jail • Voter outreach at Mama Shu's • Corvette split in half
WEDNESDAY NEWS HIT - The lawyers for James and Jennifer Crumbley asked the Michigan Supreme Court to release the couple as their Oxford High School shooting cases progress.
This request was made in documents filed Tuesday.
The couple also wants the circuit court to limit the number of victims in the cases to the families of the four students who were killed when their son Ethan Crumbley allegedly opened fire on Nov. 30, 2021. Attorneys filed this request Monday.
The Crumbley parents, who are both charged with involuntary manslaughter, were arrested in Detroit a few days after the shooting. They have been in jail ever since, and are being held on $500,000 bonds.
Read: Trials for James and Jennifer Crumbley delayed
"I say they shouldn’t have went on the run," said parent Andrea Jones. "When you’re found with multiple burner phones, gift cards, you’re on the border of another country, you’re held up in a warehouse – all signs point to the fact that you were fleeing."
Jones and other Oxford parents are upset with the latest requests from the Crumbleys, calling them a slap in the face.
The motion filed Monday would limit the number of people prosecutors share case information with through the Crime Victims' Rights Act.
Prosecuting attorneys are emailing more than 1,800 email addresses in the Crumbley case each time a notice or case update is shared. If the number of victims was to be limited, the number of people they contact would be fewer.
Read more Oxford High School shooting coverage here.
"I think that’s what got me the most upset, to see them portray them as the victims in the case, and yet say all the families except for four, they’re not victim enough," another parent said.
Defense lawyers say some case information has made its way to social media. Attorneys assert that the prosecution's actions are botching James and Jennifer's chance to have a fair trial.
Attorney Todd Perkins shared legal insight about the request.
"There can be victims in a case in which they may not even be witnesses, but they’ve been traumatized, they’ve been injured by the acts, the alleged acts, of an individual," he said. "To say that it should only be four, I’m hard-pressed to believe that you could limit the ability under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act."
The Crumbley parents also tried to have their cases dismissed over the summer, and their attorneys argue that they shouldn't be prosecuted for their son's actions.
"It’s fascinating legal arguments that are taking place throughout this case. One is the significance of this case will set the tone on a grander scale and set the issue of responsibility and understanding in families and people who have firearms in their home or allow people access to firearms," Perkins said.
James and Jennifer are accused of buying Ethan a gun and ignoring signs that he needed mental health help before the deadly school shooting.
Kamala Harris traveling to Metro Detroit this weekend
The U.S. Vice President will travel to Detroit this weekend to attend an event with the Michigan governor and lieutenant governor.
Kamala Harris's trip to the Motor City will also include highlighting federal bills like the CHIPS Act that is intended to bring more manufacturing back to the country.
From there, Harris will travel to Southfield for a voter education event with students at a local school.
The first stop for Harris will include participating in a Michigan Democratic Party Finance Event with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist. The events are invitation only.
Get more 2022 Midterm coverage here.
Transformer slams through truck's cab after Corvette strikes pole
A driver of a box truck was nearly crushed by a transformer that fell on his vehicle after a crash Tuesday afternoon in Macomb County. The Macomb County Sheriff's Office said a 34-year-old man driving a Chevrolet Corvette was killed in the crash on Romeo Plank at 26 Mile in Ray Township.
The box truck driver said the man in the Corvette tried to pass him but lost control and slid into the pole, knocking the transformer down. The Corvette was split in half. The driver in the truck said if he had been leaning forward instead of sitting up straight, he too would have been killed.
"When I saw that my heart just dropped to my stomach," said Mary Greet, who witnessed the crash's aftermath. "I am just amazed that he made it out, that he jumped out of that van like he did." Authorities closed the intersection while they removed the mangled Corvette and DTE crews secured downed power lines. They are still at the scene.
The crash is still under investigation, but neighbors say Romeo Plank has been a problem for years. "It’s incredible. It’s incredible, but the speeds around here are pretty high. People are always in a hurry," Greet said. "It's just an act of God that anyone made it out."
See more of the nasty wreck here.
Oakland County Sheriffs hosting vehicle auctions
The sheriff's department has several auctions its hosting over the next several days in an effort to shed some of its abandoned vehicles.
Six auctions are scheduled throughout the county over the next few weeks. All auctions are cash-only and will be held at towing businesses.
Auction schedule:
- Oct. 20 at 9 a.m. – Wixom Towing at 30290 Beck in Wixom
- Oct. 20 at 10 a.m. – Lakeside Towing at 2025 E. West Maple in Walled Lake
- Oct. 20 at 1 p.m. – Byer's Wrecker Service at 10590 Enterprise in Davisburg
- Oct. 21 at 10 a.m. – Byer's Wrecker Service at 399 South in Rochester
- Oct. 21 at 1 p.m. – Buckhorn's Towing at 1258 S. Lapeer in Lake Orion
- Oct. 29 at 8:30 a.m. – Adlers Towing at 630 E. Walkton in Pontiac
The vehicles up for grabs include cars, trucks, boats, and more.
People encouraged to vote at Mama Shu's Homework House
As the election nears, a convoy is traveling the country encouraging Black residents to vote. The executive director of Black Voters Matter called it the "blackest bus in America." "We won’t black down," said Cliff Albright. "In our community, people aren’t getting that door knock, that text, that phone call."
The goal is to reach people who may feel forgotten and get them to the polls. The bus was in Highland Park on Tuesday, a city that had 10% of its total population vote in the August primary election.
One of the stops in Highland Park included the Homework House, started by activist Mama Shu. Spreading the message can be helped by having a bus or three acting as rolling billboards that go town to town throughout Michigan. However, it also matters where the buses park - including in front of the Homework House in Highland Park.
Black Voters Matter has partnered with Mama Shu. Her Homework House gives students a place to learn and work when school is out for the day.
Find more information on the voter event here.
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Daily Forecast
Plan on potential rain throughout the day though the showers should be more off than on. There will also be wind gusts up to 30 mph along with some warm temperatures. More rain could fall later tonight.
What else we're watching
- River Rouge High School's culinary program is getting new cutting boards, chef coats, and thermometers as part of a nonprofit donation from the Bad Boyz of Culinary Foundation.
- Construction on Woodward Avenue is scheduled to begin next week. The changes will include bike lanes, better visibility and two fewer lanes. See the expected road work here.
- Dave Coulter and the Oakland County Board of Commissioners Chairman will travel to the White House Wednesday to join other local leaders as part of a forum on helping the state best use the funds from the federal government.
- A winemaker and the general manager of Detroit Vineyards is about to start harvesting grapes. The season is entering the tasting room phase which means it's time to try some wine. Josh Landon will be at the vineyard Wednesday.
- Ex-Governor Rick Snyder has asked a court to drop the misdemeanor charges against him in the Flint Water case. More serious charges against other officials were dismissed after a high court ruled the one-man grand jury used to indict the individuals was unconstitutional.
Smashing success: NASA's DART spacecraft shifts asteroid's orbit
A spacecraft that plowed into a small, harmless asteroid millions of miles away succeeded in shifting its orbit, NASA said Tuesday in announcing the results of its save-the-world test.
The space agency attempted the first test of its kind two weeks ago to see if in the future a killer rock could be nudged out of Earth’s way.
"This mission shows that NASA is trying to be ready for whatever the universe throws at us," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said during a briefing at NASA headquarters in Washington.
The Dart spacecraft carved a crater into the asteroid Dimorphos on Sept. 26, hurling debris out into space and creating a cometlike trail of dust and rubble stretching several thousand miles (kilometers). It took days of telescope observations from Chile and South Africa to determine how much the impact altered the path of the 525-foot (160-meter) asteroid around its companion, a much bigger space rock.