Latest Michigan news, sports, business and entertainment at 9:20 p.m. EDT

MICHIGAN GOVERNOR-KIDNAPPING PLOT

3rd day ends with no verdict yet in Gov. Whitmer kidnap plot

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Three days and still no verdict. Jurors have gone home for the night in the trial of four men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The judge reminded them to keep their thoughts private when away from the courthouse. Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta are charged with conspiracy. Croft is from Delaware while the others are from Michigan. Defense lawyers argue that the group was manipulated by an informant who was taking direction from the FBI. The trial began with jury selection on March 8.

ODD-STOLEN SASQUATCH

Michigan police investigate theft of sasquatch lawn ornament

PARK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Police are investigating the theft of a 7-foot-tall metal sasquatch lawn ornament from a home in southern Michigan. State Police say the item crafted from sheet metal was stolen from a home in St. Joseph County’s Park Township on or after March 22. They say a white panel van with dark driver- and passenger-side windows was observed parked in the area that day. The ornament has a rusty brown color with various sharp edges to resemble the fur of the mythical, ape-like bigfoot. Police say it appears the sasquatch was cut away from a steel post with a pair of bolt cutters or a similar instrument.

AP-US-PACKARD-PLANT-DETROIT

Judge orders owner to demolish Packard plant in Detroit

DETROIT (AP) — A judge has ordered the demolition of the deteriorating Packard auto plant in Detroit, finding that it had become a public nuisance. Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Brian Sullivan wrote in a March 31 order that the plant’s Peruvian owner, Fernando Palazuelo, and his company, Arte Express Detroit, must remove all rubbish and debris from the sprawling site that covers several city blocks and demolish all buildings and structures on the property. Palazuelo bought the Packard property in 2013 for $405,000 at a Wayne County tax foreclosure auction. He said then that his plans were to restore and reopen the 40-acre complex as a mixed-use commercial, residential and cultural development.

COURT COSTS

Law that raises millions in local courts is challenged

DETROIT (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court is being urged to strike down a law that forces people convicted of crimes to pay millions of dollars for the everyday costs of running local courts. The justices heard arguments Wednesday. The challenge comes at a key time: The law expires in October, and any decision from the Supreme Court will affect how the Legislature responds. Critics say it’s unconstitutional for a judge to oversee a criminal case and also have the power to order someone to pay to keep the lights on and the building clean. From 2018 through 2020, courts collected $108 million statewide, and 75% of that was collected in District Courts. Those courts handle traffic tickets, drunken driving cases and other misdemeanors.

DIVISION 2 ALL-STATE BOYS

Williamston’s Mason Docks wins Michigan AP D2 basketball POY

Mason Docks of Williamston leads the Michigan Associated Press All-State team in Division 2 as the Player of the Year. The senior guard averaged 16.2 points while helping the Hornets to a 27-0 record and their first state title since 1940. Docks will continue his career at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Williamston’s Tom Lewis was voted Coach of the Year by a panel of sportswriters from around the state.

CRASH-FAMILY HURT

Family hurt in crash after husband grabs SUV steering wheel

PERE MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A Holland woman, her two young children and her husband have been injured after their SUV rolled over in western Michigan. State police say Wednesday that the 28-year-old driver lost control of the vehicle about 3:40 p.m. Tuesday on US-31 in Pere Marquette Township when her husband in the front passenger seat grabbed the steering wheel. The SUV traveled off the roadway, veered back into traffic and rolled over in the median. The 29-year-old husband and a 3-month-old girl in a child’s car seat were ejected from the SUV. The vehicle landed on top of the husband. The driver, her daughter and her 4-year-old child suffered injuries not considered to be life-threatening. Her husband was in serious condition.

MICHIGAN LAWMAKER-DRUNKEN DRIVING

Michigan lawmaker charged in February with drunken driving

LIVONIA, Mich (AP) — Rep. Mary Cavanagh was arrested back in February for drunken driving in Livonia. This is the second time the Metro Detroit lawmaker has been arrested by Livonia police and charged with operating while intoxicated, the first incident occurring in 2015. The February incident was not public knowledge until Gongwer News Service reported the story earlier this week. In the early hours of Feb. 25, Cavanagh was pulled over by Livonia police when an officer noticed she was driving with two flat tires, according to the police report for the incident. Livonia police observed Cavanagh’s car swerving between lanes and one of the front tires disconnecting from the rim.

ELECTION 2022-CONGRESS-UPTON

GOP Rep. Upton, who voted to impeach Trump, won’t run again

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Longtime Michigan Republican Rep. Fred Upton, who voted to impeach President Donald Trump over the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, announced Tuesday he will not run for a 19th term in Congress. Upton, 68, is the fourth Republican who backed impeachment to not seek reelection. In February, Upton — a moderate — had aired a campaign ad that appeared to signal he was more likely to run. Redistricting put Upton and Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga in the same seat in southwestern Michigan. Former President Donald Trump recently endorsed Huizenga. He has worked to exact revenge on those who crossed him — recruiting, endorsing and campaigning for challengers running against them.

AP-US-MICHIGAN-GOVERNOR-KIDNAPPING-PLOT-EXPLAINER-ENTRAPMENT

EXPLAINER: Jury mulls entrapment in Whitmer kidnap plot case

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Jurors deliberating at the trial of four men charged with plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer must answer a key question about whether the FBI engaged in entrapment. That’s the prohibited practice of cajoling or tricking subjects into committing crimes. An entrapment defense exists as a check on overzealous investigators seeking to create crimes by trapping credulous, desperate subjects. Defense lawyers at the kidnapping-plot trial have portrayed their clients as big-talking, pot-smoking weekend warriors, susceptible to manipulation by FBI undercover agents and informants. Prosecutors say the defendants had already broached the idea of kidnapping Whitmer and other schemes before they came into contact with the FBI.

FATAL POLICE SHOOTINGS-MICHIGAN

Police identify 2 men shot by officers in separate incidents

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Police have identified two men fatally shot by officers from different agencies in separate incidents in western Michigan. Michigan State Police said Monday that 37-year-old Joseph Miller of Muskegon was the burglary suspect two state troopers shot after he drew a gun when they confronted him Monday afternoon in Laketon Township near Muskegon. Grand Rapids police say 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya was shot by a Grand Rapids officer who he fought with after the officer stopped his vehicle Monday over a license plate issue.