State Roundup

Inkster
Residents: Other officers should also be punished

INKSTER, Mich. (AP) - Residents of the Detroit suburb of Inkster called for the disciplining or dismissal of any officer who was present during the beating and arrest of a motorist early this year.

About 100 people attended a special meeting of the Inkster City Council on Tuesday, where the Jan. 28 police beating of Floyd Dent was discussed.

The incident came to light in March, when a television station aired police dashcam video that showed two officers haul the 57-year-old Dent from his car during a traffic stop. While Dent was on the ground, one of the officers, William Melendez, can be seen repeatedly punching him in the forehead. Dent was bloody when he stood up.

Melendez, who has denied any wrongdoing, was fired and has been charged with assault. The city's police chief, Vicki Yost, resigned two days after Melendez was charged.

Some of those at the meeting Tuesday said any other officers who were involved in the beating and arrest should be fired or placed on leave. The video shows several officers were present at a certain point during the arrest.

Charges against Dent, including resisting arrest and possession of drugs, were dropped. Dent, who was at the meeting, said police planted drugs in his car.

Mayor Hilliard Hampton II said the city would "do the right thing" after a full internal investigation

Muskegon
Ex-convict pleads no contest to killing 2 women

MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) - An ex-convict charged with killing four women in western Michigan has pleaded no contest to two counts of murder.

Leon Means made the pleas Tuesday in a Muskegon County court in the October 2014 slayings of Anna Lawson and Judy Bushman. No contest isn't a guilty plea but treated as such for sentencing purposes.

He's scheduled for sentencing May 26.

Authorities say Means confessed to killing them as well as fatally stabbing his estranged wife, Cynthia Means, 30, and her mother, Linda Herrera, 48, after a 1989 prison escape. The 1989 cases were scheduled for trial on Tuesday but that's been postponed.

Published: Thu, Apr 30, 2015