July trial set in fatal shooting on porch case
DETROIT (AP) — A July trial is scheduled for a Detroit-area man who fatally shot an unarmed woman last fall on his porch.
Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Dana Hathaway on Wednesday set Theodore Wafer’s trial for July 21. It’s expected to last about three weeks.
A final conference is June 20.
Last week, Wayne County Circuit Chief Judge Pro Tem Timothy Kenny removed Judge Qiana Lillard from the case. Hathaway was drawn to take over.
There’s no dispute that Wafer shot Renisha McBride in the face on Nov. 2 in Dearborn Heights. His lawyers insist he opened the front door and fired in self-defense, fearing that the drunken 19-year-old was trying to break into his home before dawn.
Prosecutors, however, say he should have called 911 and kept the door shut.
State rejects county’s plan to cut more than $175M of its debt
DETROIT (AP) — State officials have rejected a draft of a plan to cut more than $175 million of Wayne County’s debt.
The Detroit Free Press reports the decision increases pressure on Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano to get unions and county officials to sign off on the strategy or face the prospect of a state-appointed emergency manager.
Michigan Treasury spokesman Terry Stanton said Tuesday that Wayne County has yet to get approval from the county commission, the county treasurer and unions — a requirement for state approval. The county has until the end of June to get support.
Officials from Ficano’s office say the plan would eliminate financial and structural deficiencies.
Ficano spokeswoman June West says the plan presented to the commission in February is still being used as a framework.
Ex-Michigan Supreme Court justice stays in prison for full sentence
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A Detroit federal judge has rejected ex-Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway’s request to get out of prison ahead of schedule.
Hathaway was sentenced last year to serve a year and a day in prison for bank fraud. She pleaded guilty and admitted shifting properties and failing to disclose assets while trying to dump her Detroit-area home in a short sale.
On Jan. 13, Hathaway asked Judge John Corbett O’Meara to shorten her sentence or let her enter home detention. The 60-year-old is at a federal prison in Alderson, W.Va., and is scheduled for release June 26.
O’Meara rejected the request Tuesday, saying he lacks authority to modify Hathaway’s sentence.
The judge says evidence that Hathaway submitted about her rehabilitation in prison doesn’t empower him to intervene.
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