Sheriff Connect

(April 21, 2014) --With the start of the boating season, Wayne County Sheriff Benny N. Napoleon cautions Metro Detroit boaters and swimmers to use common sense to help stay safe.

“Follow the boating laws, wear a life jacket, pay attention to what’s going on around you, know the weather conditions and where the shallow spots are,” Napoleon said. “These may seem like basic tips but using basic safety precautions can help you have a good experience on the water.”

Napoleon notes that the county’s Marine Unit has responded to two incidents recently that show wrong actions can create far more dangerous conditions on the water.

Detroit (April 10, 2014) Wayne County Sheriff's officers discovered a few surprises when they apprehended two Wayne State University students accused of stealing a woman’s iPad in the Penobscot Building; early Tuesday morning.

In addition to the iPad, a search of the students uncovered 12 checks worth $42,373.53 from various corporations payable to a prominent metro Detroit radio station and more than eight grams of marijuana, said Sgt. Chris Smith.;;

Eighteen-year-old classmates Samuel Cooper and Eric Perez, each of Detroit, were arraigned today in 36th District Court in Detroit.; Cooper and Perez each were charged with larceny from a building (two felony counts). Cooper also was charged with identification theft and possession of marijuana. Bond for each was set at $7,500 (10 percent) and a preliminary exam scheduled for April 17.

Cooper and Perez had been arrested at about 7:15 a.m. Tuesday, shortly after an employee of the Wayne County Friend of the Court reported finding the teens rifling through her belongings and taking her iPad from an area reserved only for employees on the first floor of the Penobscot Building, Sgt. Smith said.; The civilian employee told police she had left her belongings briefly while she went nearby to get a cup of coffee.;

Sheriff's officers arrested Perez following a chase that ended on the 7th floor of the building, where the Sheriff's Friend of the Court Enforcement Unit is located. Cooper was arrested outside at the corner of Griswold and Congress.;;

Cooper and Perez are accused of stealing the 12 checks Monday from a backpack in a dorm room at Atchison Hall on the Wayne State campus. The checks had been left by a student employee of the radio station who was assigned to take them to another location for deposit, said Sgt. Smith.

Cooper and Perez had split the checks and hoped to cash them, Smith said.

Sheriff's Sgt. David Clark was the lead investigator on the case.

Taylor (March 28, 2014) – High School seniors from throughout the Downriver area received hands-on training today from the Internal Revenue Service in the use of accounting in law enforcement.

About 100 students interested in accounting participated in the four-hour IRS workshop, known as the Adrian Junior Project. It was sponsored by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and held at the Wayne County Community College District campus in Taylor.

“There’s a lot more to accounting than credits and debits,” said IRS Special Agent Stephen Moore of Detroit, who conducted the training. “The workshop showed students where accounting and law enforcement meet.”

Students investigated a fictitious case of an ice cream shop owner accused of embezzlement.; They reviewed documents and built a criminal case that included interviews with a person playing the part of the owner.

Among the high schools represented were Riverview, Gibraltar Carlson, Flat Rock, Huron, Grosse Ile and Annapolis.

Detroit (March 21, 2014) Detroit One, a violent crime reduction initiative, has led to the indictment of nine street gang members in the City of Detroit, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade announced today.
Modeled after a program in Washington, D.C., Detroit One is a collaboration among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. WCSO Deputy Chief Dennis Richardson represented the agency at the briefing.

Detroit One, which has been in operation for one year, targets the “worst of the worst” offenders, those with significant violent crime histories, McQuade said. The Detroit One collaboration has led to 114 arrests.

The indictment unsealed today charged the Bounty Hunter Bloods street gang with various illegal activities. The gang operates primarily in the area between Joy and 7 Mile, and between Telegraph and Greenfield.    

(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.