Sheriff Connect

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

(September 12, 2013) Detroit– On Saturday, September 14, 2013, Sheriff Benny N. Napoleon and the entire Wayne County Sheriff’s Office will honor fallen Michigan State Police Trooper Paul Butterfield with a tribute Sheriff Napoleon instituted in early 2011. Trooper Butterfield was shot and killed Monday night during a traffic stop.

click here to read the entire press release

As summer draws to a close, it’s time for the back-to-school season.  Safety should be a priority for every family as children return to classrooms this fall, according to Wayne County Sheriff Benny N. Napoleon.

“It is important for parents and students to stay up-to-date on proper safety precautions,” Napoleon said.  “I encourage everyone to share this information with friends and family to keep them safe throughout the school year.”

(September 10, 2013) Detroit– An inmate captured on the east side of Detroit Monday night after he stabbed a Wayne County Sheriff’s deputy with a sharpened comb earlier in the day will be arraigned Wednesday on an array of charges stemming from the assault and escape.

Abraham Pearson, who has used the alias Derreck White, attacked the deputy in a holding cell outside a courtroom in the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice as Pearson faced sentencing for carjacking and armed robbery charges.  Pearson’s escape prompted a day-long manhunt that resulted in his arrest Monday night on the east side of Detroit. 

(September 9, 2013) Detroit–An inmate facing sentencing on carjacking and armed-robbery charges Monday morning stabbed a Wayne County Sheriff’s deputy in a holding cell outside a courtroom at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice and escaped wearing the officer’s uniform.

Abraham Pearson, who uses the alias Derreck White, used a comb sharpened at one end to attack the deputy inside a cell near courtroom 704.