By Mary Jo Frank
Chester Posby found guilty but mentally ill
A Washtenaw County Circuit Court jury found Chester L. Posby, 70, guilty but mentally ill of first degree murder charges April 12 for the June 1992 shooting death of John L. Kemink, professor of otorhinolaryngology, in a U-M Hospitals examining room.
Posby, a retired car dealer, is being held at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry near Ypsilanti, awaiting his May 12 sentencing.
Under Michigan law, a first-degree murder conviction requires a life prison term, according to Capt. James R. Smiley.
Wire wheel covers whisked away at Wolverine Towers
A 42-year-old man has been arrested for the theft of wire wheel covers from an automobile parked at Wolverine Towers. He was arraigned March 23 in 15th District Court, charged with receiving and concealing property over $100 and larceny from an auto over $100.
The defendant, a parolee who is now in the Washtenaw County Jail, was apprehended on I-94 by State Police from the Ypsilanti Post after the Department of Public Safety (DPS) issued a description of the man and the vehicle he was driving to other local law enforcement agencies. The descriptions were provided by a witness at Wolverine Towers.
Smiley says a new set of wire wheel covers similar to those stolen costs about $1,100.
Both receiving and concealing property over $100 and larceny from an auto over $100 are felonies, each carrying a penalty of up to five years in jail.
Sophomore charged in assault near the Law Quad
A 20-year old LS&A sophomore from East Lansing has been charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm in the beating of another student with a baseball bat near the Law Quadrangle.
The assault occurred about 3 a.m. March 26. The two students met at a party. Alcohol was a factor, Smiley says.
The defendant was able to post 10 percent of his $20,000 bond and was released from the Washtenaw County Jail.
Assault with intent to do great bodily harm is a felony with a penalty of up to 10 years in jail.
Visitor arrested for carrying a concealed weapon
A 21-year-old man from Genesee County who was visiting friends at Mosher-Jordan Residence Hall was apprehended at 3:30 a.m. April 10 by DPS police officers and charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
Students saw the .45 semi-automatic pistol and reported it to residence hall authorities, who in turn contacted DPS.
Smiley says the pistol was reported stolen by the Flint Police Department in November. The defendant is wanted on another felony charge in Genesee County.
Arraigned April 11, the man is being held in Washtenaw County Jail in lieu of posting $10,000 bond. Carrying a concealed weapon is a felony with a penalty of up to five years in jail.
“We consider this a very serious offense. We were very fortunate no one was hurt,” Smiley says.
Attempt to cash stolen personal checks fails
A 32-year old man who is not affiliated with the University was arrested April 4 and charged with two felonies—forgery, and uttering and publishing—after attempting to cash stolen checks at a local bank.
Smiley says that on March 14 a student in the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library reported having her personal checks stolen from her book bag when she left it for a few minutes. The theft was reported to DPS and the bank.
When the man attempted to cash one of the checks, made out for $204, he was recorded by the bank’s surveillance camera.
Arraigned in 15th District Court, the man is being held in the Washtenaw County Jail on $100,000 bond.
The penalty for forgery and for uttering and publishing is five years in jail.
Warm, sunny weather draws big Hash Bash crowd
Sunny skies and temperatures in the 50s contributed to the large Hash Bash crowd that gathered on the Diag April 2. Smiley estimates about 6,000 persons attended.
DPS made 110 arrests, including 59 for possessing marijuana, 41 alcohol-related arrests, five for the unauthorized sale of merchandise and one on a felony warrant from Oakland County.
A 23-year old man from Traverse City who is not affiliated with the University was arrested and arraigned for carrying a concealed weapon, a 25-caliber pistol. At his preliminary examination April 13, he was bound over to Washtenaw County Circuit Court for trial.
