Man who lit coworkers on fire charged • Teen catches pair having sex on Ring • DPD chief applies for new job
THURSDAY NEWS HIT - A man accused of lighting his old co-workers on fire after he was terminated from his job is now sitting in jail, facing a list of felony charges.
Authorities said Roberto Romero returned to his former job at an auto parts manufacturer in Southwest Detroit on Monday morning after he had been fired for leaving threatening notes at the business. While there, he allegedly doused one of his ex-coworker's vehicles with gas and set her on fire. When a colleague saw what was happening and tried to intervene, she was also set on fire.
The victims, both Detroit women in their 50s, were seriously injured in the arson and required medical treatment.
Romero was arraigned Wednesday on charges of two counts of assault with intent to murder, placing offensive substance causing serious injury, placing offensive substance causing physical injury, two counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm, and two counts of felonious assault. He was remanded to jail.
"It is hard to imagine a a more scarring and painful scenario that being set on fire. The alleged actions of this defendant would be met with vigorous prosecution and an aggressive path to accountability," said Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
DPD chief applies for new job
Detroit Police Chief James White, who has repeatedly spoken about mental health while leading the department, is now seeking a job in mental health care.
White confirmed Wednesday that he has applied to be the CEO of the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network (DWIHN). The organization provides mental health care to people in Detroit and around Wayne County. Outreach efforts include mobile crisis units, a 24-hour help Hotline, and more.
"It’s an extremely important role at a critical time for Detroit and Wayne County. We continue to have a mental health crisis in our community that needs to be addressed at multiple levels," White said.
In May 2021, when he was serving as interim chief, White said that mental illness is "a disease that victimizes our community," noting that police "cannot arrest our way through mental illness."
Under his leadership, the department has expanded its critical incident team with the addition of 15 more officers to handle mental health calls to 911 with a trained mental health professional.
Teens charged for school threats
The school year just started, and students are already making threats against schools in Oakland County. Even worse, these threats come on the heels of a deadly school shooting in Georgia.
Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard addressed the threats Wednesday, saying that his office has investigated threats in Pontiac, Independence Township, Orion Township, and most recently in South Lyon. The South Lyon threat resulted in three 16-year-olds being arrested. Two will be arraigned with making a threat of terrorism while the third is charged with making an intentional threat to commit violence against a school.
"It's gotta stop. People need to talk to their kids and they need to share information, which is the other key message I want to pass on," Bouchard said. "We don't know what's being posted or said often times unless people share it."
Bouchard noted that even making a baseless threat is a crime.
"It's numbing to think that people are still saying things," he said. "Even if they don't intend to carry it out, it's a crime and will be investigated and subject to any and all appropriate penalties."
Ring catches couple having sex in driveway
A Farmington Hills mother said her 13-year-old son was waiting on a package Monday when he heard the Ring camera go off. However, when he opened the app and watched the live video while at school, it wasn't the package - it was two random people having sex in his driveway.
"I’m angry that my child had to see such debauchery," the boy's mother said. "I’m angry they forced a choice upon my parenting that I wasn’t ready to deal with yet."
She said she felt violated when she saw the footage of the pair getting out of their rental car and getting it on in her driveway in broad daylight.
Based on the Ring footage, it appears the couple was recording the encounter, too.
The incident is under investigation, and police are searching for the pair.
In the meantime, the resident whose son saw the full display is trying to keep positive.
"I’m trying to put a positive spin on it and say, ‘This is what we don’t do,’" she said.
Larry Nassar investigation closes - again
After reviewing more than 6,000 documents related to how Michigan State University handled the sex abuse reports against Dr. Larry Nassar, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced a "disappointing close to" her office’s investigation.
According to Nessel, MSU previously provided more than 105,000 pages of documents but would not release thousands of documents, citing attorney-client privilege protection. The school’s Board of Trustees finally voted to release the remaining documents last December, and Nessel said her office received them in March and April.
Nessel said no new, relevant information was found during the analysis of the documents. She said she was shocked by this because it took so long for the school to release the files.
"Not all of the communications were preserved," Nessel said, referring to text messages and emails that were deleted prior. She added that she believes her office now has custody of all documents that the school kept.
Nessel said that "a significant number, if not a majority, of the documents did not appear to us to be covered by the privilege." According to Nessel, some documents weren't even related to the investigation. She noted that there was no reason for the university to withhold the documents for as long as it did.
"While I appreciate that MSU eventually cooperated, the withheld documents provided victims with a sense of false hope, for no justifiable reason," she said.
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What else we're watching
The Wealthy Store on 9 Mile in Oak Park was destroyed in a fire on Thursday morning.
Police say Lawrence Gilchrist, a man accused of attacking an 81-year-old German man in Detroit, may be suffering from mental health issues. The victim was sucker-punched out of nowhere while downtown on Sunday morning.
Two people were killed and three injured in a crash on Michigan Avenue near Wiard in Ypsilanti Township on Wednesday afternoon.
The invasive spotted lanternfly has been discovered in Wayne County. The pest is known to feed on an invasive tree, but also eats a wide range of native plants like grapevines as well as native trees such as black walnut, river birch, willow, sumac, and red maple.
Scammers are targeting Metro Detroiters with an email that includes their full name and address, along with threats to share lewd photos.
Hurricane Francine makes landfall in southern Louisiana
Hurricane Francine barreled into southern Louisiana on Wednesday evening as a category 2 storm, making landfall with destructive 100 mph winds and dangerous storm surge along the Bayou state's coastline.
The eye of Francine moved onshore at 5 p.m. CT in Terrebonne Parish continuing to bring hurricane-force winds inland into the southern region of the state near Baton Rouge. Minutes after landfall, power outages spiked in Louisiana to more than 42,500 without power.
Multiple parishes in Louisiana have issued mandatory evacuation orders as the Category 2 hurricane is set to make landfall Wednesday afternoon. State and local officials are urging residents to prepare for the storm's wrath, which is also expected to bring widespread power outages, significant flooding and substantial property damage.
