Oak Park jeweler murder plot thickens • Mr. ChimeTime talks Detroit food • Eyes on NFL Draft

FRIDAY NEWS HIT - A fifth person has been charged in the murder-for-hire plot to kill Dan "Hutch" Hutchinson and his wife in order to take control of the Oak Park jeweler's estate.

Phillip Sumpter of Ohio was arraigned in the 45th Judicial Court in November 2023 on a single count of conspiracy to murder, court records indicate. Sumpter's role in the plot, which included a metro Detroit attorney who was considered the mastermind behind the killing, was not immediately clear. 

Sumpter had an examination scheduled for March 14. 

The Oakland Press was the first to report Sumpter's involvement in the scheme.

Three of the four men involved in the plot were ordered to stand trial in Hutchinson's death last May. Attorney Marco Bisbikis, 38 and Angelo Raptoplous, 33, are accused of hiring Roy Larry, 45, to murder both the jeweler and his wife Marisa. 

Larry was brought into the plot by his cousin Darnell Larry, who was an acquaintance Raptoplous. He secured a plea deal with the prosecutor's office and agreed to testify against the other three suspects.

Their plan included employing Roy Larry to gun down both Hutchinsons while they were in their car. Dan Hutchinson died after being stuck several times. The shooting happened on June 1, 2022 when Roy Larry pulled up alongside the jeweler while riding an electric bike and brandishing a firearm before firing several shots.

The plot was outlined over several days of testimony during a preliminary examination of the three suspects. It included explosive allegations of mob involvement by Bisbikis.

Mr. ChimeTime dishes on Detroit food

One of the food critic world's most popular reviewers stopped by FOX 2 to give the scoop on his favorite spots in Detroit and the life of an influencer traversing the restaurant landscape. 

Mr. ChimeTime, also known as Rashad Mooreman travels to a different city every month and tries out each area's best spots, as well as some recommendations from viewers. And, as he told Maureille Lue and Lee Thomas on The Noon, he's got a soft spot for Detroit. 

The city gets a bad wrap, he said, and has a lot of food worth trying. His favorite spots so far include What's the Dill, Sista Roles Streets Eats, and Donut Cutter.

He also clarified this is his main job and he gets money from brand deals. But he hopes to have his own TV show one day where he can ramp up his food reviews even more. 

Eyes turn to Detroit after Super Bowl

Super Bowl LVIII festivities are in high gear, but once the curtain falls on another season, the focus turns to Detroit and the 2024 NFL Draft, which is less than 80 days away. "My heart is racing right now. April 25th is in our sights," said Dave Beachnau. "Planning will amplify here very quickly, but we’ve got a good plan in place."

Beachnau is part of a committee from Detroit in Las Vegas this week to plan one of the NFL's biggest shows of the year. He is also the executive director of the Detroit Sports Commission. In recent months, we’ve seen his organization work with the mayor’s office, Downtown Detroit Partnership, Detroit police, and the Lions to plan — for what Beachnau calls — 'a mini Super Bowl."

Later this week, the planning committee will get its first look at renderings of the draft’s layout which will stretch from Campus Martius park to Hart Plaza.

"When you think about the draft main stage theater, that’s going to be built around Campus Martius Park, there’s so many moving pieces to it from street closures to impact on the businesses," he said.

Michigan lawmaker under fire for racist post

State Rep. Josh Schriver (R-Oxford) is facing criticism after he reposted a controversial post on X from a right-wing activist. The post was a photo of a world map with mostly black figures and some white figures representing people – written across the map was "The great replacement!"

It’s a racist conspiracy narrative that falsely asserts there is an active and covert effort to replace white populations in current white-majority countries, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. FOX 2 spent a few minutes on Schriver's doorstep to get some answers, but to no avail.

"When elected representatives like Rep. Schriver promote this kind of racist rhetoric, he really jeopardizes the safety of people of color all across the state," said Democratic state Rep. Jason Hoskins. Hoskins works with Schriver in the House, which is already in an even split between Republicans and Democrats. 

Schriver took to X to make several questionable posts this week, some directed towards Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit). Tate responded with a statement on Thursday, saying, in part, "Representative Schriver has deeply and personally offended the Michigan House of Representatives."

Detroit to demo 100th commercial building

In a milestone for the city of Detroit, its demolition department will celebrate its 100th commercial tear-down of building Friday when it takes aim at the former Hanneman Elementary School.

It's one of the long-vacant Detroit schools in the city that the Detroit Construction & Demolition Department had slated for demo. 

The city has undertaken a years-long effort to tear down vacant homes and buildings in hopes of uprooting blight in Detroit. 

The demolition at 6420 McGraw Road will be unveiled at 10 a.m. today.

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

We're looking at temperatures climbing into the 60s on Friday for one of the warmest February days ever. Rain and some wind is also expected.

What else we're watching

1. Michigan bear populations are up in the Upper Peninsula and way up in the northern lower peninsula, a report from the DNR showen. The presentation of bear figures was shown during a Natural Resources Commission Thursday. 
2. A date is now set for the Trenton Channel Power Plant to be demolished. It'll happen in two phases, DTE said, with the smokestacks expected to come down first on March 1.
3. Plans to widen US-23 have gotten pushback from public transit advocates who would rather the department focus less on vehicles and more on other forms of mobility. An authority out of Ann Arbor is offering to help MDOT study and develop a transit scenario for the highway.
4. The U.S. Coast Guard will formally recognize the captain and crew of the J.W. Westcott II, the boat that delivers mail to the tankers that travel the Great Lakes, for their life-saving efforts after a steel worker fell from the Ambassador Bridge in July 2023.
5. The hapless Detroit Pistons made several major trades Thursday. The team followed it up with an impressive win against the Portland Trailblazers. 

Biden delivers remarks after special counsel releases report

Speaking from the White House on Thursday evening, President Joe Biden said he "Cooperated completely," and threw up no roadblocks and "sought no delays," in a special counsel probe. 

A report was released earlier on Thursday in which special counsel Robert Hur found evidence that Biden willfully retained and shared highly classified information when he was a private citizen, including about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, but concluded that criminal charges were not warranted.

In his remarks, Biden angrily lashed out at the special counsel and denied Hur's assertion that he shared any classified information.