Tuesday News Hit: 3 charged in security guard death, U.S. Congressman sues Whitmer and Beaumont Wayne reopens
A different kind of tragedy linked to COVID-19 made news Monday when three family members were charged in connection to the death of a security guard in Flint late last week. Working at a Dollar General on Fifth Avenue on Friday afternoon, Calvin Munerlyn got in an argument with a customer after informing her she needed to wear a face mask while inside. The customer, Sharmel Teague spat on Munerlyn before being asked to leave. She later returned with her husband and son, who ended up shooting the guard in the back of the head.
Genessee County Prosecutor Dave Leyton said there was "just no excuse" for the handling of the scene. "This was totally uncalled for," said his friend Bryant Nolden. The 43-year-old security guard was father to six children and three stepchildren and owned the nickname Super Duper from his mother because he was always helping others.
Along with first-degree murder, prosecutors announced nearly a dozen felony charges against Teague, her husband, and her son. Both men are still at large with a $1,000 reward being offered for help leading to their arrest.
Outside the tension in Flint was more political news brewing, with ideological differences between Republicans and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer laying the foundation for a series of legal challenges between the two. Following promises from the GOP legislature to sue the governor over her use of executive authority, a Republican Congressman filed a lawsuit against Whitmer and Health Department Director Robert Gordon.11
While her initial orders were meant to flatten the curve, U.S. Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-Dryden) alleges the governor "continued to issue stricter and unclear executive orders that unreasonably and unnecessarily interfere with constitutional rights under the rubric of a continuing 'emergency.'" The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in West Michigan.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) said Monday the legislature will "probably" file its own lawsuit next week after both the House and Senate passed resolutions approving them to do so. Additionally, Shirkey is considering the use of a citizen-led petition drive that would rollback Whitmer's powers by repealing the 1945 emergency powers law she's used to issue executive orders.
Whitmer has already won one court case regarding her executive powers after a citizen-filed lawsuit alleged the governor had overstepped her bounds by restricting the individual liberties of Michigan residents. It's unclear when or how those court cases will go. Despite the stagnation between the legislature and the governor, Michigan, once the country's third-hardest hit state in the country, has seen its COVID-19 cases drop continuously since peaking in early April. In Detroit, the virus's spread has plummeted - news that among other things the city's mayor was happy to tout on Monday.
"Unlike some of the drama your seeing in Lansing, you're seeing the mayor and council dealing with a $350 million dollar budget deficit professionally without a lot of acting up, without a lot of rancor - just getting down to work," said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.
Following up on plans from Whitmer to loosen restrictions on medical procedures that can be performed, Beaumont Health announced intentions to reopen its Wayne hospital location.
After closing the facility down completely and either laying off staff or moving them to other hospitals, Beaumont Wayne will reopen at 8 a.m. Tuesday using a phase-in schedule.
"They have a lot of expertise in communicable disease being close to the Detroit airport. We've invested training and specialty into that campus to care for these type of patients," said Beaumont Health COO Carolyn Wilson.
The hospital will begin taking both COVID-19-positive patients and other individuals as well.
Daily Forecast
A cold front will be rolling into Michigan this week with the coolest air arriving Friday and Saturday. Expect a high around 53 degrees on Tuesday.
Coronavirus model cited by White House now predicts nearly 135,000 US deaths by August
After initial estimates placed the country's death rate around 74,000, a new model out of the White House projected at least 135,000 deaths in the U.S. by August.
As of May 4, 69,000 people have already died due to COVID-19. New projections estimate up to 3,000 people will die every day due to the virus by June 1. Currently, the country averages 1,750 deaths a day.