Rewind: News from the last 7 days

The city of Lansing said that incorrect summer tax bills were mailed to nearly 16,000 property owners. Spokesperson Scott Bean said a setting was off when the contractor Extend Your Reach printed the bills, affecting those with mortgage escrows set to pay property taxes. The bills had the wrong property number and tax-due amount. Correct property tax information can be found at lansingmi.gov/595/propertytax, and updated bills will be mailed soon. The payment deadline is Sept. 3.

Rashad Trice pleaded guilty to first-degree, premeditated murder and first-degree criminal sexual conduct in the death last July of 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith of Lansing. The murder charge carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. Trice, former boyfriend of the child’s mother, had already confessed in federal court to kidnapping resulting in death, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Sentencing is set for Aug. 16. Trice, 27, admitted taking Wynter from her mother in Lansing on July 2, 2023, and strangling her with a cellphone cord. Police found the child dead in an alley near Coleman A. Young International Airport in Detroit.

Strange Matter Coffee was the victim of an elaborate ruse that resulted in a $1,000 loss to the business and an individual employee. An employee received a call at its East Michigan Avenue location from someone impersonating a police detective. Employing “spoofing,” in which the scammer uses technology to impersonate an existing phone number, the caller presented a fake name, title and badge number. Scammers appeared at the shop and had the staff count money to find two fraudulent bills, which may have been planted. The Strange Matter team then called the real Lansing Police Department, which then opened an investigation. More details were kept secret as part of the investigation.

Reno’s East sports bar in East Lansing has closed after 32 years and will reopen this fall as OneNorth Kitchen and Bar after remodeling. One-North owner Scott Berman (pictured, right) Thursday that he purchased Reno’s East, the second restaurant that owner Jessie Stipcak has sold him. He acquired and remodeled Reno’s West in Delta Township in 2020 and reopened it as OneNorth. Stipcak started at Reno’s East as a waitress in 1996 while an MSU student, its website says. In 2003, she purchased the business when Steve Fata was ready to retire. Stipcak stills owns Reno’s North on Old U.S. 27 in Dewitt Township.

Downtown Lansing Inc. is accepting applications for its new Tenant Improvement Grant through Sept. 30. The agency will match 50% of eligible rehab investments with a cap of $50,000 per project. It’s available to downtown properties and businesses, with a priority on rehabbing and revitalizing historic buildings. Non-tax-exempt businesses and organizations are eligible. The program aims to reduce vacancies, rehab older vacant commercial buildings and support business while enhancing their physical appearance and improving downtown’s economic viability. Projects vying for grants need to meet at least one of the program goals listed at downtownlansing.org/do-business/tools-and-programs/tenant-improvement, which also includes the full grant description and application forms.

Now-former Eaton County corrections deputy Ethan Eversman, 24, of Ionia, admitted “requesting and exchanging nude images” with a teenage girl and distributing child porn on message platforms, a Michigan State police trooper testified in a warrant hearing. After being fired, Eversman was arraigned in Ionia County District Court on 14 counts, including four counts of distributing or promoting child pornography, three counts of aggravated possession and seven counts of using a computer to commit a crime. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted as charged. A hearing is scheduled for July 15.

Public Safety

A 56-year-old woman was killed and her son seriously injured Monday in a single-vehicle crash in Wheatfield Township. The woman, who police said may have suffered a medical emergency, was driving south on Zimmer Road when she drove off the road and struck a tree. … One person was killed and an unconfirmed number injured in a four-vehicle crash on Interstate 96 in Eagle. Two semi-trucks and two cars were involved. Police said the at-fault driver was not paying attention and rear-ended another vehicle. … Five people, including a 2-year-old, were injured when a side-by-side utility terrain vehicle struck a tree in the 5100 block of Clark Road in Bath Township. The driver, a 52-year-old man, and four others were transported to Sparrow Hospital for treatment