No charges yet in deputy's murder • Michigan road woes • Detroit councilwoman challenges pot billboards
WEDNESDAY NEWS HIT - As the investigation continues, no charges have been filed against three suspects arrested in connection with Oakland County Deputy Bradley Reckling's murder.
Reckling was shot to death in Detroit on Saturday while following a vehicle stolen from a Madison Heights waterpark earlier in the day.
According to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, the driver of the stolen vehicle suddenly stopped, and the occupants got out in the area of Schoenherr and Park Grove streets. That's when Reckling was ambushed and killed.
A perimeter was set up, and three people were taken into custody in the area, though none of them have been charged, as the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office is awaiting an investigation report.
Detectives are still investigating and will forward their report to the prosecutor when it is completed.
Michigan road woes
Along with current Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Republicans and Democrats have made the same promises over the years.
"We are fixing the roads, and we are fixing them now," said then-Gov. John Engler.
Yet, Michigan's roads seem much worse when you cross the border into Ohio, where the drive suddenly gets smoother.
Ohio’s Department of Transportation (ODOT) maintains a huge network – nearly 50,000 thousand lane miles of roadway. In comparison, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is only responsible for about half of that – around 28,000 lane miles.
"We do see some different aspects," said Dan Miller of ODOT.
Miller manages Ohio’s road materials, and is the person who provides contractors with the so-called "recipes" for the roads. It’s like baking a cake. And inside ODOT’s testing labs, engineers mix combinations of road "ingredients."
"In our base area we are using a larger coarse aggregate," Miller said. "And that larger coarse aggregate is going to be able to take that heavier load and transfer that load down into the base material and allow for the vehicles to travel."
On top of that, Ohio mostly uses an asphalt mix on their highways. Engineers discovered it is quieter to drive on, and more flexible than concrete – which makes it less prone to cracking under heavy loads or extreme temperatures.
Meanwhile, Michigan constructed many of its highways using concrete back in the 1950s to accommodate truck traffic. Even though concrete costs more, it was said to last longer. But that wasn’t the case.
Fatal stabbing ruled self-defense
No charges will be brought against a Redford man who stabbed his neighbor to death over the weekend.
Police said the neighbors on Indian Street had been getting into disagreements and reporting each other to police for several years before an altercation on Sunday escalated to violence.
"It’s an unfortunate scenario," said Redford Police Det. Edward French. "One neighbor produced a knife and lunged at (the other.)"
The man being attacked was "able to wrestle the knife away" from the attacker and "ended up killing him," the detective added.
A man in his 30s was arrested but later released when it was determined he stabbed the other man, who was in his 60s, in self-defense.
Detroit challenges number of pot billboards
Drive into Detroit, and you'll see dozens of billboards for dispensaries, but that could change.
Councilwoman Angela Whitfield Calloway wants to get rid of them. The City of Detroit's Law Department has been asked to look at an ordinance that would ban or restrict billboards for cannabis.
"We have to bring our business back, we have to let the people know that we’re here," said Mark Savaya, with Leaf & Bud provisioning centers.
He said he has 50-100 billboards for his business, and not having them would hurt.
FOX 2 reached out to the councilwoman, but she was not available. And at this point in time, there is nothing on the formal City Council agenda.
Samantha Woll trial continues
The trial against the man accused of killing Samantha Woll continues Wednesday.
Michael Jackson-Bolanos is charged with murder and lying to police after the October 2023 crime.
Investigators have used cell phone data and camera footage to place Jackson-Bolanos at the scene. A map shows where his phone pinged at the time prosecutors believe Woll was killed. Those pings put him near Woll's apartment on Joliet Place.
An FBI special agent who testified Tuesday said the location points match up with footage of whom investigators believe was Jackson-Bolanos caught on security cameras in Detroit.
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Daily Forecast
Scattered rain and thunderstorms are possible today, though the widespread rain is gone.
What else we're watching
- A 15-year-old was robbed and dragged by a car in a Nike Air Jordan shoe sale set-up in Melvindale on Monday, police said. The s
- Choppy waters flipped a boat, leading to a water rescue on Lake St. Clair on Sunday. Video captured the rescue of four people.
- Michigan's first two beating-heart transplants took place at Henry Ford Health in Detroit recently. A Ferndale man was one of the people to receive that gift of life.
- A new lawsuit has been filed for homeowners impacted by flood water after GLWA pump stations failed three years ago.
- A woman is scheduled to be sentenced today after her 5-year-old son wandered away from her Macomb County apartment and froze to death last year. Derricka Fleming pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter in the fall.
Surgeon general declares gun violence in US a public health crisis
The United States surgeon general is declaring gun violence a public health crisis amid a fast-growing number of injuries and deaths involving firearms in the country.
Dr. Vivek Murthy, the nation’s leading doctor, issued the advisory Tuesday stating that gun violence and its immediate psychological ramifications may severely compromise public health.
"Today, for the first time in the history of our office, I am issuing a Surgeon General's Advisory on firearm violence," Murthy said in a video announcement. "It outlines the urgent threat firearm violence poses to the health and well-being of our country."
Murthy’s statement follows another summer weekend marked by mass shootings.