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Michigan DNR CO Finds Missing Cadillac Teens, Arrests Abductor

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Two teenage girls reported missing after not returning home from their Cadillac Junior High School Friday were located Saturday night by Michigan Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Mike Hearn.

DNR CO Mike Hearn

Trinity Machowski, 13, and Arrianna Schings, 14, were found with alleged abductor Christopher Wagenschutz, 34, of Cadillac early Saturday evening in Kalkaska County.

After initially being taken to the Cadillac Police Department, the girls have since been returned home to their families.

Police issued a “Be on the Lookout” bulletin Friday for Wagenschutz who was being sought for child abduction in the Cadillac area. It was reported Wagenschutz picked-up the two teens from the Cadillac Junior High School Friday afternoon.

The bulletin included a description of Wagenschultz, a vehicle license plate number and reported that Wagenschultz was suspected to be driving a red Subaru. The bulletin also reported that the suspect may have a firearm in his possession and was therefore considered dangerous.

Hearn was patrolling the Village of Kalkaska early Saturday evening. He had received the original “Be on the Lookout” information from Kalkaska County Central Dispatch and had also been told there was reason to believe the vehicle and suspect might be in the Kalkaska area.

At around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Hearn saw a vehicle driving into the parking lot of St. Mary in the Woods, located at 438 County Road 612 in Kalkaska. The vehicle matched the description provided in the bulletin. Hearn followed the vehicle in his DNR patrol truck and confirmed the vehicle and license plate information.

With the confirmed identification of the vehicle, Hearn reported the location to Kalkaska County Central Dispatch. He followed the vehicle into the parking lot of the Northland Food Center, located at 2101 U.S. 131 and activated his emergency lights. The vehicle did not stop and continued to drive slowly through the parking lot.

Sgt. Eric Johnson of the Kalkaska County Sheriff’s Office was patrolling the area nearby and heard the radio communication from Hearn. Johnson went to Hearn’s location and was able to help Hearn stop the suspect vehicle.

As Hearn and Johnson exited their patrol vehicles, they ordered the driver to place his hands in the air. The two officers then removed the driver from the car, who was confirmed to be Wagenschutz, and placed him in custody without incident. Wagenschutz was armed with a firearm.

Johnson took Wagenschutz to the Kalkaska County Sheriff’s Office. Machowski and Schings were also removed from the vehicle and did not appear to be harmed. Hearn transported the girls to the sheriff’s office. All three persons were turned over to the Cadillac Police Department. 

“Conservation officers live in the county they serve which helps them to be a stronger part of their communities,” said Gary Hagler, chief of the DNR’s Law Enforcement Division. “We are fortunate that CO Hearn was on patrol nearby and was able to quickly resolve this situation without any injuries.”

Hearn has served the DNR Law Enforcement Division since 2004 and works in Kalkaska County.

Michigan conservation officers are fully commissioned state peace officers who provide natural resources protection, ensure recreational safety and protect citizens by providing general law enforcement duties and lifesaving operations in the communities they serve.

Michigan DNR Conservation Officers Prevent Suicide At MacArthur Bridge

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Detroit – December 7 2018 -12:31PM: A 25-year-old woman from Detroit who threatened to jump off the MacArthur Bridge Friday afternoon received medical attention as the result of two Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers’ efforts.

Conservation Officer Ben Lasher was patrolling Belle Isle when he was notified by the Michigan State Police dispatch that a woman was threatening suicide by jumping off the MacArthur Bridge.

MSP dispatch received the original call from a relative of the suicidal woman.
The MacArthur Bridge connects Detroit and Belle Isle over the Detroit River. The bridge features 19 torches and is 2,193 feet in length. DNR conservation officers and Michigan State Police patrol the island to ensure public safety within and around the state park.

When CO Lasher reached the scene, two females waved him over and said that a third female had asked them to call the police. The two women did not know the suicidal woman.

At 12:33PM, CO Lasher parked his DNR patrol truck on the south side of the MacArthur Bridge and walked across the bridge toward the woman. The woman was crying, standing next to the guard rail of the bridge.

“She asked me to stay by my patrol truck at first,” CO Lasher said. “I was able to talk to her and find out her name.”

While CO Lasher talked to the woman, he was able to slowly move toward the outside edge of the roadway. During this time, CO Steven Converse, who also was patrolling Belle Isle, arrived at the scene while Michigan State Police managed traffic control.

CO Converse approached the area of the bridge where Lasher and the woman were standing and while maintaining his distance from the woman, Lasher introduced her to CO Converse.

The two conservation officers continued to talk to the woman and were able to convince her to go with them into Lasher’s warm patrol truck and seek someone to talk to.

“Part of what conservation officers are taught is to engage in conversation with the suicidal person and to ask what has happened that has brought them to this point of suicide,” said Dr. Michael Comer, contract police psychologist for the DNR Law Enforcement Division.

“COs listen to the person’s story, establish a rapport and demonstrate that they care about the suicidal person. They have been taught that they will not be able to change the person’s mind until they first understand the person’s story and despair.”

CO Lasher and CO Converse helped the woman climb over the barricade, back onto the road and escorted her to the patrol truck where she was able to rest.

Lasher requested emergency medical services when the woman said that she would like to go to the hospital. Medic 25 from the Detroit Fire Department arrived on scene and transported the woman to Detroit Receiving Hospital’s Crisis Center.

The scene was cleared at 1:01 p.m., exactly 30 minutes after CO Lasher received the original call.

“Conservation officers receive unique training,” said Chief Gary Hagler, DNR Law Enforcement Division. “While their primary focus is to protect natural resources, conservation officers are trained in general law enforcement, so they can better serve the communities they work and live in.

Part of their training includes how to identify and work with people who are in mental or emotional distress. We are thankful that Lasher and Converse were on patrol nearby and able to help this woman seek the appropriate medical attention.

CO Lasher has been a conservation officer since 1996 and serves St. Clair County. CO Converse has been a conservation officer since 2000 and works in Manistee County; on Friday Converse was assigned to work a patrol shift at Belle Isle.

CO Ben Lasher
CO Steven Converse

Michigan conservation officers are fully commissioned state peace officers who provide natural resources protection, ensure recreational safety and protect citizens by providing general law enforcement duties and lifesaving operations in the communities they serve.

If you or someone you know needs mental health help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at: 800-273-TALK (8255).

Source: DNR

High Five to Twitters very own @pimpernilpaul for the info.

Dispatch Audio: Russell Industrial Center Shooting, 2 Shot, 1 Dead

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Detroit: November 30, 2018 –  Detroit Police responded to a shots fired call earlier this evening just before 8:00PM. What originated as a shots fired call at the Russell Industrial Center at 1600 Clay St, soon became a double shooting scene. A 911 caller stated he heard a number of shots being fired, then stepped outside and saw 1 person on the ground.

Officer’s from the 3rd Precinct arrived and discovered 2 victims with multiple gunshot wounds. 1 victim was described as having a GSW to the shoulder and face, but still breathing. The second victim was described as cold and not breathing, no pulse.

Victims are both described as W/Ms, 20 & 21. The 21 year old died at the scene and the 20 year old is hospitalized with critical injuries.

Detroit EMS Medic 20 conveyed the critically injured 20 year old to Henry Ford Hospital.

The Russell Industrial Center is home to a number of art galleries. The shooting took place outside of the center.

Dispatch Audio

Two Detroit Gang Members Convicted Of Attempted Murder In Drive-By Shooting

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Detroit: November 29 2018 – The Detroit One collaboration of local, state, and federal law enforcement has led to the convictions of two members of a Detroit street gang known as “Bandgang” for attempted murder in aid of racketeering, assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider.

Joining in the announcement was Timothy R. Slater, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Martez Bailey, 24, of Detroit, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson. Bailey’s plea agreement calls for a sentence of 25 to 30 years in prison. Bailey’s co-defendant, and fellow Bandgang member, Khalil Wilson, 25, previously pleaded guilty for his role in the drive-by shooting. Wilson’s plea agreement also calls for a sentence of 25 to 30 years in prison.

According to court records, Bailey and Wilson were both part of Bandgang, a local street gang on the west side of Detroit. On June 21, 2016, Bailey and Wilson drove to Biltmore Street in Detroit and fired repeatedly into a house, hoping to kill two rival gang members. Bailey fired a .45 caliber handgun repeatedly while Wilson unloaded an Uzi with an extended magazine capable of holding 50 rounds. A woman in the house unrelated to the gangs was severely injured in the shooting. The attempted murder stemmed from a dispute with two rival gangs, Trust No One (TNO) and Too Much Cash (TMC), prompted, in large part, by jealously over credit card fraud, as well as an earlier shooting by Bandgang members in February 2016 that left a five-year-old girl permanently disabled.

“This type of credit card fraud and identity theft is actually a deadly crime, because gangs are using extreme violence to protect their illegal income,” United States Attorney Matthew Schneider said. “But if gangs in Michigan think they will get off easy, they are wrong – several gang members have been sentenced to a decade or more in prison for credit card fraud.”

This case is the latest in the FBI Violent Gang Task Force’s investigation into Bandgang. In total, twenty-four members and associates of the gang have been charged in sixteen different cases and have received sentences ranging from 36 to 154 months on charges related to attempted murder, credit card fraud, identity theft, firearm offenses, and obstruction of justice. Four different credit card labs have been seized from Bandgang members during the investigation (not counting individual skimmers and embossers), and over 15,000 stolen credit card accounts have been linked to Bandgang members.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Shane Cralle and Terrence Haugabook.

Source: FBI