Police search landfill for Ashley Elkins • Winter Weather Advisory • Residents deal with dilapidated apartment

TUESDAY NEWS HIT - The search for Ashley Elkins, a missing Warren woman, led police to a northern Macomb County landfill on Monday.

Authorities spent about six hours Monday digging at Pine Tree Acres in Lenox Township, with a special focus on a six acre area of the landfill.

"I know that they're searching for the body, and so we're a little nervous about that," Elkins' uncle, Maurice Morton, said. "Hoping that whatever they do find, they find it sooner rather than later."

Elkins, a mother of two, was last heard from on Jan. 2 as she ran errands. She messaged her family members that she was heading back from a beauty supply store. No one has heard from her in more than a week, something that is out of character for her.

Her ex-boyfriend, De'Andre Booker was arrested and charged last week with lying to police. That came after investigators searched his Roseville apartment and seized a dumpster from the property. 

"Her mother has said numerous times, ‘He threw her out with the trash,’" Morton said. "That's disheartening." 

Residents fed up with condition of Ypsilanti apartment complex

Some apartments at Arbor One in Ypsilanti have a yellow sticker saying the buildings do not have a certificate of occupancy, yet people still live there and say the conditions are bad.

Reica McGuire said she has to use her stove to stay warm because she hasn't had heat for months. Meanwhile, another resident said numerous parts of her apartment are broken.

"You see all the damn standing water in there," Edwina Harris said of her dishwasher that doesn't drain. "It sucks."

Harris also showed how her bathtub is falling apart.

It's these issues and more that have residents withholding rent - and the complex taking them to court for eviction. 

"They tell us we have to put it into an escrow account and leave it in escrow, and then you start getting eviction notices and stuff like that," said resident Dean Hellerud.

On Monday, officials from Washtenaw County arrived in a bus outside the complex to inform tenants how to challenge the landlord in court.

FOX 2 tried to get a response from the apartment, but an employee who said they couldn't speak for the owner shut the door when asked how to contact the owner.

Winter Weather Advisory

A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. for Washtenaw, Livingston, Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.

Low pressure producing snow squalls could bring snow accumulating in the 1 to 3 inch range. Allow yourself extra time for slick roads from this morning into the early afternoon. 

Along with that snow comes bitter cold, with Tuesday being the coldest day of the work week.

Highs will only reach 19, and wind chills will stay in the single digits.

More snow is in the forecast for Thursday and Saturday as temperatures begin rising. However, they drop again to start next week.

Winds threaten firefighters' progress in LA

Firefighters have been making progress containing wildfires burning across the Los Angeles area, but fierce winds Tuesday could threaten that progress.

A large part of Southern California around Los Angeles is under an extreme fire danger warning through Wednesday. 

 The winds are predicted to pick up starting early Tuesday and continue through midday Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. They are not expected to reach hurricane-force like last week, but they could ground firefighting aircraft. 

LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone warned that if winds reach 70 mph, "it’s going to be very difficult to contain that fire."

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and other officials expressed confidence on Monday that the region was ready to face the new threat with additional firefighters brought in from around the U.S., as well as Canada and Mexico.

Jennifer Crumbley's lawyer accuses prosecutors of smear campaign

Jennifer Crumbley's attorney claims prosecutors in her involuntary manslaughter case spent $10,000 on smear campaign against her.

Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter, is in prison after a jury convicted her in connection with the deadly shooting. Her husband was also convicted and sentenced to prison. 

Attorney Michael Dezsi claims in a court filing that the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office retained two public relations firms to smear Crumbley's name. He also says they violated a gag order by opening up access to media outlets to shadow trial preparation.

He also wrote that prosecutors spent $100,000 retaining PR firms for a "public smear campaign" despite a judge prohibiting "pre-trial publicity."

The Oakland County Prosecutor's office rejected the argument that stories from national media outlets had influenced the jury pool.

"The two stories defense counsel references came out after the jury verdicts, not before, and the suggestion that they had any impact on the jury is ridiculous," wrote chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams.

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

Frigid temperatures and snow dominate the forecast today.

What else we're watching

1. A dog who was allegedly dipped in boiling water is fighting for his life at a dog rescue in Romeo. The daughter of the dog's owner is accused of the abuse.
2. Prepare for more detours if you drive in southern Oakland County. Eastbound I-696 is closing between I-75 and Lahser in March, and it's expected to stay closed for two years. 
3. A teenager is behind bars and three people are expected to be OK after a stabbing at a Dearborn hotel early Sunday. 
4. The commission that oversees Michigan's natural resources appeared ready to clear the way for the state to sell hundreds of acres of land in Grayling Township to a company with plans to build a munitions facility.
5. Detroit police seized more than 200 pounds of marijuana from an unlicensed dispensary, Puff Puff Pass on 7 Mile, after the business was caught selling weed to minors.

Special Counsel's final report on Trump's presidential election interference case released

In a highly anticipated report released Tuesday, Special counsel Jack Smith asserted that his team "stood up for the rule of law" during its investigation into President-elect Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.

In the report, Smith expressed unwavering support for his decision to bring criminal charges, which he believes would have led to a conviction if voters had not returned Trump to the White House.

"The throughline of all of Mr. Trump's criminal efforts was deceit-knowingly false claims of election fraud-and the evidence shows that Mr. Trump used these lies as a weapon to defeat a federal government function foundational to the United States' democratic process," the report said.

The new report, released just days before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to office on January 20, casts fresh light on his frantic but unsuccessful attempt to retain power in 2020.

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