Authorities claim man ran business from jail
DETROIT (AP) — Authorities say a jailed adult entertainment consultant convicted of tax evasion was able to manage his business for more than 18 months in Michigan using a laptop computer in his cell and jail telephones.
The Detroit Free Press recently reported that 44-year-old Francis Sharrak of Farmington Hills was serving as his own lawyer and asked for the laptop to prepare arguments for his federal court sentencing in April, but he wasn’t supposed to have the computer.
Sharrak was held at the Wayne County Jail in Detroit in a cell for high-profile inmates. Sheriff’s officials acknowledge that Sharrak had the computer, calling it an isolated
case.
Sharrak currently is in federal prison. He wasn’t charged for any actions in jail, but prosecutors asked a judge to consider them at sentencing.
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Plea entered in buried motorcycle case
BAY CITY (AP) — A man who authorities say buried a Harley-Davidson motorcycle in 2009 and claimed it was stolen to collect insurance money faces sentencing next year in the case.
MLive.com repots Chad E. Dejongh of Bay County’s Beaver Township is to be sentenced January 7 after pleading no contest earlier this month to two counts of false report of a felony.
The felony charge is punishable by up to four years in prison. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a 15-year felony.
Authorities say Dejongh in October 2009 reported his Rocker C motorcycle stolen, but police were tipped in September 2011 that it had been buried.
Police didn’t find the motorcycle.
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Court: Man can switch name after sex change
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals says a man who has completed a sex change should be allowed to change his name as well, rejecting the idea that men should have men’s names and women should have women’s names.
The three-judge panel said Steven Charles Harvey was not attempting to deceive anyone by asking to be known as Christie Ann Harvey. Oklahoma County District Judge Bill Graves had ruled against Harvey, noting that gender-reassignment surgery didn’t change Harvey’s DNA.
The panel said Graves committed a “clear error” by rejecting the name change. It said the law does not require people to have gender-specific names and said there are several names that are traditionally used by both men and women.
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Police: Fake $100 bills had wrong face
ATTLEBORO, Mass. (AP) — A Rhode Island man police say used counterfeit $100 bills to make purchases at a Target store made a critical mistake.
The bills had a picture of President Abraham Lincoln on them. Real $100 bills bear a picture of Benjamin Franklin. Lincoln’s portrait graces the $5 bill.
Dana Leland of Central Falls, R.I., was held on $1,000 cash bail after pleading not guilty to charges of uttering a counterfeit note and possession of a counterfeit note.
Police tell The Sun Chronicle the 29-year-old Leland used the fake notes on three consecutive days at the North Attleborough store to buy items worth less than $25.
Leland’s lawyer said her client has struggled with drug and alcohol problems and untreated mental health issues, and had a relapse.
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