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Ann Arbor Independent Files Lawsuit to Obtain Background Check of Sheriff’s Deputy Accused of Sex Crimes
Note: The A2Indy FOIA Fund has taken in over $40,000 in 2024. The newspaper uses this fund to pay to obtain public records. This is the newspaper's first lawsuit against Washtenaw County for refusing to turn over public records.
On…
Court of Appeals: Trial Court Judge “Rewarded Parental Kidnapping”; “Enabled Illegal Behavior”
by P.D. Lesko
NOTE: This is one in a series of articles about the Washtenaw County Trial Court and cases where a litigant or litigants appealed a County Trial Court judge's ruling. The majority of local Trial Court rulings are upheld…
Sheriff Deputy’s Sex Crimes Trial: Politics, Postponements and Missing Evidence
By P.D. Lesko
Washtenaw County Sheriff's Deputy D'Angelo McWilliams.
If Washtenaw County Sheriff's Deputy and alleged rapist D'Angelo McWilliams were a vegetable, he'd be a potato--a very, very hot potato. McWilliams's hiring and…
Alleged Rapist Hired as Deputy; Sheriff Denies Release of Background Check as “Not in the Public’s Interest”
by P.D. Lesko
On March 25, 2024, The Ann Arbor Independent submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the County Sheriff's Dept. to obtain a copy of the background check done on Sheriff's Deputy D'Angelo Ladonn McWilliams prior…
County Sheriff Spends Mental Health and Public Safety Millage Money on New Boat, New Furnishings, Graphic Design, and Bogus Therapy Program
by P.D. Lesko
This article was made possible by The Ann Arbor Independent FOIA Fund.
At a recent "informational meeting" with officials from western Washtenaw County, the Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton, The Sheriff's…
In May 2023, Michigan Court of Appeals Found That Local Trial Court Judge Showed Bias, Abuse of Discretion and Ignorance of Court Rules
by P.D. Lesko
On May 11, 2023, the Michigan Court of Appeals published an opinion in which a three-judge panel found Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Tracy E. Van den Bergh's rulings in a divorce case repeatedly showed bias and abuse…
Former Ann Arbor City Employee Who Sued Over City’s COVID Vaccine Mandate Has Case Thrown Out
"Plaintiffs, former City of Ann Arbor (“City”) employees, filed this lawsuit claiming that their employment was terminated in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ('Title VII) and Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights…
Ann Arbor Man Arrested in Connection to Retail Theft Ring, Has Record of Felony Drug, Weapons Charges
by P.D. Lesko
An Ann Arbor man was arraigned on charges of organized retail crime for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars of products from Target, TJ Maxx, and Nordstrom Rack in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor.
Richard Larsh, 55,…
Local Trial Court Judge Subject of Complaints to State Judicial Tenure Commission and AG Nessel
Updated 11/7/23: The explanation of how a Guardian ad Litem is assigned and paid has been expanded.
by P.D. Lesko
The Ann Arbor Independent received documents that show the Honorable Tracy E. Van den Bergh of the Washtenaw County…
Man Who Robbed Ann Arbor T-Mobile Store is Sentenced to 8 ½ Years in Prison by Federal Judge
On Aug. 21, U.S. District Court Judge Nancy G. Edmunds sentenced Deon Bell to 8 ½ years in prison, his longest sentence to date. Bell, a Michigan resident, robbed a T-Mobile store in downtown Ann Arbor, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison…