Hutch's murder sentencing • Detroit adds restaurant grading system • Police body cam concerns

WEDNESDAY NEWS HIT - After a pilot program that began last month, a new color-coded restaurant grading system is coming to Detroit.

The city council unanimously passed the Dining With Confidence ordinance this week. When the ordinance goes into effect in six months, restaurants must post a color-coded sign outside their business. Green would mean they passed their last health inspection and are good to go. Red would mean the health department shut the restaurant down.

This sign system is designed to increase transparency and make diners feel more comfortable when they eat out.

City council voted down a similar ordinance in 2022. After that proposal failed, the city started a voluntary pilot program that issued green placards to compliant eateries. 

Hutch's murder sentencing

Marco Bisbikis and Roy Larry will both learn their sentences Wednesday for the 2022 murder of popular Metro Detroit jeweler Dan ‘Hutch’ Hutchinson.

A jury convicted both men of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation of murder, and felony firearm last month.

Bisbikis, the attorney for the Hutchinsons, wrote himself into Dan's will and trust before the murder-for-hire plot. Investigators say Bisbikis worked with Roy and others to plan the crime, while Roy was the one who shot Dan on June 1, 2022, outside an Oak Park pawn shop.

Larry denied being the shooter and took the stand in his own defense.

"I never changed my story - I never lied to them not one time," Roy Larry said while on the stand.

Bisbikis did not testify.

Accusations of Detroit police not wearing body cameras increase

Concerns have been raised about Detroit police officers not having their body cameras on during police stops and crime-scene investigations.

The police department is now reviewing the claims, some of which were made by members of the Detroit Police Board of Commissioners. 

"There has been way too many cases than our office had initially expected, and these numbers are starting to rise," said Police Commissioner Willie Burton.

Body cameras became a tool for police departments several years ago – to protect citizens and departments against claims of misconduct. But if they're not being worn, or they're not turned on, that is a problem. 

One such case involves a Detroit police lieutenant who told a pro-Palestinian protester to "go back to Mexico" during a demonstration outside an NAACP fundraiser featuring President Joe Biden. Burton said that lieutenant did not have his body camera on.

Samantha Woll murder trial gets underway

After opening statements Tuesday, testimony will begin Wednesday in the trial for the man accused of murdering Samantha Woll.

Michael Jackson-Bolanos, 29, is charged with first-degree murder, home invasion, and lying to a peace officer after he allegedly stabbed Woll in her Detroit home in October 2023. She was found dead outside her residence in the 1360 block of Joliet Place.

Jackson-Bolanos was arrested several weeks later amid speculation that Woll's murder was a hate crime due to her position within metro Detroit's Jewish community. However, Detroit police said later on they don't believe that to be the case. 

"She was bloody. She was barefoot. She was cold to the touch," Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Elsey said on Tuesday. "They didn’t catch him until close to six weeks after her death. But when they did, he still had her blood on a jacket that he wore that night." 

In previous court hearings, investigators revealed cell phone data that prosecutors say put Jackson-Bolanos at Woll's home on the night of the murder.

Child loses both parents in separate crashes

A 6-year-old boy is now an orphan after losing both of his parents in separate traffic crashes just a few years apart.

"I’m not sure about what he understands, but… what he has knowledge of is that his mom is no longer here," said the boy's relative, Alaina Harris.

Ja’Marian Lane, who is about to graduate from kindergarten on Thursday, lost his mom on Friday, May 31.

The mother, 30-year-old JaSonya Cousins, was killed in a head-on collision in Chesterfield Township – along Gratiot, between 21 and 22 Mile roads.

"It was painful because she had so much life and light ahead of her," Harris said.

The 6-year-old boy previously lost his father in 2020. He died in a motorcycle crash only a couple of months before he was going to marry Cousins, according to the family. While Lane won’t really remember his dad, it is now this family’s mission to keep both his parents' memories alive.

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

It's heating up again.

What else we're watching

1. The pilot killed in a plane crash earlier this week has been identified as beloved Dearborn community leader Kevin Kreger.
2. Southfield police are investigating an assault at a graduation ceremony on Tuesday. Police say the victim was attacked with an object, but did not specify what it was.
3. A Melvindale man said his roommate pulled a sword on him because he made the bathroom stink. The suspect was gone when police arrived.
4. Your library card gives you more than just access to thousands of books - it also provides free and discounted fun. Learn more about the Michigan Activity Pass.
5. Police are on the search for a suspect accused of robbing an Ann Arbor Kroger and a Dundee Walgreens on Tuesday.

Biden reacts to son Hunter's guilty verdict in gun trial

President Biden said he was "proud" of his son Tuesday, moments after Hunter Biden was convicted by a jury of three counts related to his purchase of a firearm in 2018.

"As I said last week, I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today," Biden said in a statement.

"So many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side and be so strong and resilient in recovery. As I also said last week, I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal," he continued.

He added: "Jill and I will always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support. Nothing will ever change that."

News App