Sheriff Connect

(Feb. 26, 2014) --Wayne County Undersheriff Dan Pfannes saw the fruit of his labor become a state law earlier this month as Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation prohibiting felons from possessing ammunition until three to five years after they have served their time and completed probation or parole.

Although Michigan already prohibits convicted felons from possessing firearms for a certain amount of time, the new law closes a loophole to apply a similar ban on ammunition possession. It is part of a series of laws that make illegal possession of ammunition by felons a five-year felony. 

Pfannes, retired chief of the Westland Police Department, was instrumental in the process that led to passage of the law. He proposed the idea and gathered support from the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police, Michigan Sheriffs Association and other key law enforcement stakeholders.

Lt. Timothy Harris of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office participated in a Community Forum: Friend of the Court Workshop on Feb. 20, 2014 at the downtown Detroit campus of Wayne County Community College District.

The workshop provided community members with information about the Friend of the Court as well as discussion on successful strategies relating to being a father, raising a family and surviving under the pressure of today’s society.

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office enforces the law for the Friend of the Court. Sheriff’s officers served about 5,000 warrants in the past year, many for individuals who failed to appear at court hearings.

The workshop was co-sponsored by the community college and the Third Judicial Circuit Court.

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office will participate in a Friend of the Court Workshop from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20 at the Downtown Campus of Wayne County Community College District, 1001 W. Fort, Detroit.
The community forum is open to the public and offers solutions and strategies on being a father, raising a family and surviving under the pressure of today’s society. There also will be discussion regarding financial obligations related to child support, legal options and building positive relationships.

Information will be available on how to file a motion to reduce minor support, renegotiate child support arrangements and avoid Friend of the Court no support.
The Friend of the Court has about 26,000 outstanding warrants involving delinquent child support payments and failure to appear at court hearings.
The community forum is co-sponsored by WCCCD and the Third Judicial Circuit Court.

Detroit (January 7, 2014) – As metro Detroiters coped with record-setting frigid temperatures, Wayne County Sheriff Benny N. Napoleon deployed volunteer Reserve officers and members of the SCOUT unit (Sheriff’s Community Organized Urban Team) to assist those in need of help due to the cold.

The Sheriff’s volunteers patrolled targeted areas looking for anyone in distress. They assisted stranded motorists and offered transportation for those in need of warmth to the Judge Mathis Community Center, located at 19300 Greenfield, Detroit. Organizers at the center served coffee and hot chocolate along with chili for lunch. 

Sheriff’s Reserve CERT members (Citizen Emergency Response Team) also joined in the patrols. These Reserves are trained as EMTs to assist in medical emergencies.

Inkster (Dec. 10, 2013) – The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office will partner with the City of Inkster to assist in community policing in an effort to reduce crime and increase police visibility in a community impacted by significant economic issues.

At a press conference today, the Sheriff’s Office announced it will deploy its successful Sheriff’s Community Organized Urban Team (SCOUT) program in various areas of Inkster, teaming up with neighborhood watch groups and block clubs. The program kicked off in 2010 in several Wayne County communities including the Osborn, Rosedale Park and Dearborn neighborhoods.

SCOUT is not a substitute for 9-1-1 service but rather a way for officers to interact with businesses, schools, faith-based and community groups to improve quality of life in a targeted area. The program includes use of a Sheriff’s mobile command post to increase visibility.

Spot checks at 81 homes net only one violator

Detroit (November 1, 2013) – While Wayne County Sheriff’s deputies, reservists and volunteers patrolled neighborhoods to help prevent illegal activity during a three-night Operation Angel’s Night, members of the WCSO Electronic Monitoring Program conducted spot checks on tether participants to make sure of their whereabouts.

All tether participants were on a mandatory lock down status with the exception of those who were at work or with documentation of a professional appointment.

The sheriff’s tether unit conducted spot checks on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at the residences of 81offenders with high-risk charges, including manslaughter, assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, armed robbery, aggravated stalking and criminal sexual conduct (first degree).  The checks were conducted throughout metro Detroit.  

Investigation nets 2 arrests, illegal narcotics, weapons and exotic animals.

Detroit (October 18, 2013)– A Detroit man is facing numerous felonies after Wayne County Sheriff’s deputies and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF) raided a house in Southwest Detroit.  Around 7 a.m., officers executed a search warrant at 735 Sloan in Detroit and discovered a variety of suspected stolen items and cars including:

• small appliances
• dozens of pairs of gym shoes
• hardware tools
• 3 motorcycle scooters
• suspected marijuana and heroin
• a quarter kilo of cocaine
• several thousand dollars in cash

(Oct. 3, 2013) Detroit -- For hundreds of metro Detroit motorists, the opportunity to purchase full auto insurance coverage with a small downpayment and small monthly payments seemed too good to be true.

Turns out, it was.

Timmica Morton, a Wayne State University employee in the environmental health department, was charged this week with selling more than 300 false Ameriprise auto insurance policies to drivers, primarily from Detroit.  She is in the Wayne County Jail.

Morton, 40, is accused of using Wayne State University computers to access insurance policy applications and create false banking information for more than 300 insurance applications.  She allegedly collected fees ranging from $30 to $300 from the buyers, police said.  

The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office has been chronically underfunded for its basic mandated function of operating the jails.  The budget allocates funding to house 1,776 inmates per day at the three Wayne County jails, a number set by a Wayne County Circuit Court consent order.  But, in fact, the Sheriff’s Office is required to provide oversight of approximately 1,000 additional inmates per day – 500 that are incarcerated in the jails and 500 that are monitored on tether, creating a deficit of millions of dollars.

click here to read entire press release

(Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013) -- To avoid deficit spending, Wayne County Sheriff Benny N. Napoleon today announced that effective October 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year,  jail deputies will not be scheduled to work overtime once the budgeted overtime allotment is depleted.   Overtime funding most likely will run out before the end of the year, leaving at least nine months without overtime pay.

The Sheriff’s Office, which spent more than $17 million in overtime at the three county jails last year, has been allocated $3.6 million for overtime in the 2013-14 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, 2014.

The jail population and staffing ratios in the three county jails are established through a Wayne County Circuit Court consent order, supervised by Presiding Judge Timothy Kenny. The sheriff does not control the intake or release of inmates.

click here to read the entire press release