Rewind: News Highlights From The Last 7 Days

The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office found the body of 2-year-old Jermaine Jones Oct. 10 in the Looking Glass River. Hundreds of volunteers plus Ingham, Van Buren and Oakland counties law enforcement agencies searched for him starting Oct. 9, when he went missing. No foul play is suspected. Authorities said the toddler, who suffered from autism and hence was nonverbal, left his home while a babysitter was showering.

Audrey Dahlgren was fired by WLNS on Friday after now-deleted posts on her Twitter/X account claimed that Brenda Tracy had lied to investigators in the Mel Tucker Title IX case. The tweets, which were posted Oct. 5, included information sourced from nearly 100 pages of text messages released by Tucker’s legal team that Dahlgren said showed Tracy had “lied.” Tracy claims those texts were obtained illegally. On Monday, a Michigan judge granted Tracy a temporary restraining order, preventing Tucker or his lawyers from releasing any additional texts until a hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Dahlgren, an MSU graduate and former Spartan cheerleader, had worked for WLNS’ sports department since October 2018, serving as its sports director from 2019 until her firing. She is still employed as a sideline reporter with the Big Ten Network. 

A hit and run on the 2700 block of West Jolly Road claimed the life of 28-year-old Jose Guzman at around 4:40 a.m. Saturday. Lansing police believe Guzman was waiting for a tow truck at around 4:40 a.m. when he was hit by a dark-colored sedan driven by a suspect whom police have yet to locate.   … Jack Swamba, a 19-year-old freshman at MSU, died in an East Lansing motorcycle crash while riding southbound on Abbot Road at the intersection of Lake Lansing Road at around 9 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 11). … A stretch of Iosco Road in a rural area of eastern Ingham County was closed between South Searls and Brogan roads after the body of an undisclosed female was discovered in a nearby wooded area at around 10:30 a.m. Monday. … An arrest was made in connection with a 5-year-old boy who was found safe Monday after going missing sometime late Sunday night. Camden David-James Johnson was found safe at 7:45 a.m. Monday.

A former DeWitt Police officer was sentenced to 30 days in jail and 12 months of probation for harassing a newspaper deliveryman in 2021. Chad Vorce, 45, was accused of illegally chasing and stopping a Lansing State Journal delivery worker on Jan. 14, 2021, and pointing his gun at him twice while he was off duty. Vorce allegedly threatened to shoot the delivery driver but was apprehended by Michigan State Police troopers. He pleaded no contest to neglect of duty and aggravated assault  month. As part of his sentence, Vorce must enroll in an anger management course and do 40 hours of community service. He is barred from contacting the victim and can no longer possess a weapon or badge or identify himself as law enforcement. 

A White Lake man pleaded guilty Friday to threatening Ingham County Circuit Judge Joyce Draganchuk. Christopher Shenberger, 43, faces one count of attempted false report or threat of terrorism as a habitual fourth offender after he sent a life-threatening letter to Draganchuk in December 2021. Shenberger said he was retaliating for a 2016 case in which Draganchuk sentenced him to 75 to 180 months for two counts of 3rd-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of 4th-degree criminal sexual conduct. Shenberger was set to go to trial on Oct. 30. Visiting Jackson County Circuit Judge John McBain presided over the matter. Shenberger will be formally sentenced on Dec. 13.

A Lansing man was sentenced to 37 months in prison for threatening a federal judge on Oct. 10. Kevin Cassaday, 42, threatened U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney after Maloney had dismissed one of many lawsuits that Cassaday had filed against state and federal governments in 2021. On July 13, Cassaday was convicted on three counts. U.S. District Judge Laurie Michelson handed Cassaday his sentence after a jury found him guilty of threatening to assault or murder a federal official and two counts of interstate communications with a threat to kidnap or injure. Defense attorney Haralambos Mihas said the trial showed that his client, who was arrested nearly two years ago, suffers from mental illness.