State Roundup

Detroit Ex-Army medic claims '09 attack by Detroit police DETROIT (AP) -- A former Army medic who said he initially panicked when two Detroit police officers tried to stop him in 2009, thinking he was being shot at because of his military experiences in Afghanistan, has filed a lawsuit claiming they kicked and beat him while handcuffed. The lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court said the officers shined a spotlight into the car driven by Nick Mutafis after he left a friend's home, the Detroit News reported. He drove around the block before stopping and was pulled from the car. "Due to his experiences during the war, Nick initially thought he was being shot at and began to panic," the lawsuit states. Detroit police Sgt. Eren Stephens said internal affairs investigated. One of the officers resigned in 2010 and the other remains with the department, she said. The lawsuit said Mutafis, 37, suffered head trauma and permanent scarring. The lawsuit claims that the traffic stop itself was illegal, and police broke the steering column on his car afterward to make it appear that the vehicle had been stolen. Mutafis was arrested and charged with fleeing from police, malicious destruction of property and driving a stolen vehicle, but those charges were later dismissed by a judge, said Mutafis' lawyer, Jonathan Marko. Mutafis was wounded in 2006 by an improvised explosive device while serving in Afghanistan, Marko said. He also has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and was discharged from the Army because of his injuries. Lansing Effort to recall Snyder won't make Nov. ballot LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A group that wants voters to recall Gov. Rick Snyder says it won't collect enough signatures to get the issue on the November ballot. The group's spokesman Tom Bryant tells The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press that it has collected more than 300,000 signatures but is short of the more than 800,000 required. Bryant says collection efforts will continue into September, and they'll try to get the issue before voters in February. The Committee to Recall Rick Snyder opposes Snyder-backed changes including a tougher emergency financial manager law. Snyder spokeswoman Geralyn Lasher says the governor has made difficult decisions, including spending cuts and lifting tax exemptions on public and private pension income. She says the Republican doing what's needed to "get Michigan back on track." Livonia Judge dismisses woman's Facebo ok breakup lawsuit LIVONIA, Mich. (AP) -- A Michigan judge dismissed a lawsuit Monday filed by a woman who sought more than $8,000 from a Washington man she met on Facebook after he called an end to their online romance. The judge said she had no jurisdiction in the case. Cheryl Gray had sued Wylie Iwan in Livonia District Court over a digital camera, professional baseball tickets and other items she bought him during their six-month relationship. Gray, 50, said the two met while playing the Mafia Wars game on the online community and developed a relationship. But Iwan ended it a week before she was to fly out and see him. Gray said he sent her a message claiming he had met someone else. She filed the suit in May, claiming misrepresentation and defamation of character. "The judge dismissed it based on the court having no personal jurisdiction on the defendant, who is an out-of-state resident," said Julian Poota, Iwan's attorney. Iwan, 35, of Kennewick, Wash., did not travel to Michigan for Monday's hearing. "We are pleased the judge ruled the way she did," Poota said. "The plaintiff was arguing the personal relationship constituted doing business in Michigan." Gray said disparaging comments about her were made online after their relationship ended. "The defendant wrote a false and malicious note on his Facebook wall," Gray said in court Monday. Rochester Oakland U to host Republican presidential debate ROCHESTER, Mich. (AP) -- Oakland University will host a televised Republican presidential primary debate on Nov. 9, the suburban Detroit school announced Monday. The Michigan Republican Party also is sponsoring the debate, which will be carried by cable TV's CNBC. State GOP Chairman Robert Schostak told CNBC on Monday that invitations were going out to his party's presidential primary candidates. On the debate's expected focus, Schostak said it would be "obviously about the economy. Michigan is ground zero, metro Detroit ground zero for the state of the national economy." Schostak said he didn't yet know which candidates would participate but said he was optimistic for a good attendance. "We expect to have a full table of candidates running for president," he said. The debate is scheduled to run from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. "As an institution of higher learning, Oakland University supports activities that allow American citizens to make educated decisions about the political candidates vying to represent them," university President Gary Russi said in a news release. "We're pleased to host a Republican national debate as a critical part of the broader democratic process that will determine who will be elected president in the 2012 election." South Bend N. Ind. lawyer pleas to aiding mail and wire fraud SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- A South Bend attorney has pleaded guilty to charges of aiding and abetting mail and wire fraud. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced Monday that 49-year-old Thomas Lewis III had signed a petition to enter a guilty plea to 13 felony counts. He is accused of helping a man named Byron Canada of Berrien Springs, Mich., to bilk people out of more than $735,000. The 62-year-old Canada was sentenced in December to 11 years in prison for defrauding real estate developers and churches of more than $2.7 million while presenting himself as a priest associated with the University of Notre Dame. Authorities said Lewis vouched for Canada despite knowing he had been convicted of fraud in the past and knowing that no loans or financing had ever been provided by Canada. Published: Wed, Aug 3, 2011