An Oakland County man's trial on terrorism charges marked an uncommon beginning to the Livingston County judicial system's docket in 2014.
A pretrial hearing for a Marion Township man accused of fatally shooting a father of two during an alleged road-rage incident on Grand River Avenue in Genoa Township nearly closed the dockets for this year.
Among the other top court-related news items for 2014 were an armed home invasion, the arrest of a suspect in a 2011 murder and a 4-year-old girl's accidental overdose.
Alleged road-rage incident
Arguably the most shocking news of the year was the alleged road-rage incident in September that ended with one man lying dead in the middle of the road and another behind bars.
Testimony at a November preliminary exam for the man charged with the shooting, Martin Edward Zale, indicated that Zale's 2012 Dodge Ram pickup came quickly toward the victim and his wife's 2014 Ford Escape from a side street and then turned east, traveling behind them on Grand River Avenue in Howell. The victim's wife said Zale moved to the right when the road widened and then moved in front of them. She said he twice slammed on his brakes and accelerated.
When the two vehicles stopped at the Chilson Road traffic light, Derek Flemming exited his vehicle and approached Zale, yelling either, "What's your problem" or "What the (expletive) is your problem," his widow, Amy Flemming, testified, adding that her husband threw up both of his arms as he shouted.
Then there was one "pop" sound — a single gunshot that killed Derek Flemming of Oceola Township.
"I saw him go like this," Amy Flemming testified, demonstrating as she tossed her head back, "and he dropped to the ground like a marionette puppet had its strings cut. ... One moment, he was standing there, and the next moment he just went limp and collapsed to the ground; he landed on his back."
Zale's family has said he had the right "to stand his ground." His attorney, Melissa Pearce, said she would argue self-defense at trial.
As of December, Zale remains jailed without bond on charges of open murder, discharging a pistol from a vehicle and two counts of possessing a pistol in the commission of the murder and the firing of the pistol in connection with the shooting.
Zale's trial is set for March 2, but he first returns to Circuit Court in Howell for a bond motion hearing Feb. 13.
Terrorism trial ends with conviction
The Wixom man accused of terrorism for shooting at vehicles along the Interstate 96 corridor in a series of attacks that spanned four counties in 2012 went to trial in January.
After Raulie Wayne Casteel's arrest, he was diagnosed with a serious mental illness that included delusions.
Casteel testified in January that he was not trying to harm people, but was shooting at cars because he was told to by a coded message he received in a Detroit Tigers game and because the long lines of traffic triggered the "demons" in his mind. His paranoia included believing people were targeting his family and that military aircraft were flying over his home when he lived in Kentucky.
"I saw a long line of traffic, felt fear and anxiety and shot," Casteel testified in January. "I can't testify to the number, but I did fire at cars, yes."
The jury, however, agreed with prosecutors' argument that Casteel's actions were deliberate and premeditated. The jury convicted Casteel of terrorism in connection with 23 shootings that occurred in Oakland, Ingham, Shiawassee and Livingston counties as well as related weapons charges, including carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent and felony firearms.
Casteel was initially charged with assault with intent to murder for shooting at the Cadillac of Brighton Firehouse Subs owner Jennifer Kupiec on Interstate 96 in Livingston County on Oct. 18, 2012. However, the jury convicted him of the lesser charge of felonious assault in Livingston County Circuit Court.
Defense attorneys Douglas Mullkoff and Charles Groh declined to answer questions from the media after the verdict, but they made a quick statement expressing disappointment for the terrorism conviction.
Judge David Reader sentenced Casteel in March to 16-40 years in prison for terrorism and an additional two years for felony firearms. The sentences run consecutively to one another, but concurrently to the two-and-a-half years to four years he received for felonious assault and three years to five years for carrying a weapon with unlawful intent.
In February, an Oakland County judge expressed sympathy for Casteel's mental illness, but nevertheless sentenced him to up to 12 years in prison for the shootings that occurred on Wixom Road in Wixom.
"He knew and admitted on the witness stand that he was using a lethal weapon and if he wanted to shoot someone ... what the possible outcome could be," Reader said at the March sentencing hearing. "What prompted him to shoot may have been delusional, but he certainly knew when he was shooting at various cars and people what the possible outcome could be."
In the Oakland case, Casteel's sentence was part of a plea deal with prosecutors, in which Casteel pleaded no contest but mentally ill to nine counts of assault with intent to cause great bodily harm less than murder.
His conviction in Livingston County for terrorism is the first in state history secured by the attorney general's office.
Armed intruders shatter night's quiet
Two armed men covered in camouflage shattered the still of the night for an Oceola Township family in June.
Testimony at preliminary hearings for the suspects revealed that one of the accused — Shelbyville resident Cody James DeBruyn — told police that Richard J Quam and Ronald Johnny-Wayne Morrell, both of Grand Rapids, expressed a desire to get $50,000 to start a business.
DeBruyn told the Grand Rapids men that he knew a guy in Livingston County who was a drug dealer and would have money, according to testimony.
DeBruyn told police that Morrell and Quam began arming themselves with knives and guns, and then the men along with Morrell's wife, Rebecca Morrell, and the Morrell couple's young children drove to Livingston County.
Once here, two of the men are accused of bursting into a home in the 1600 block of North Hughes Road, south of M-59, and holding at least five people at gunpoint. The third male entered later, according to testimony.
The three men face more than two dozen charges alleging home invasion, armed robbery, unlawful imprisonment, larceny in a building, felonious assault and using a firearm to commit those crimes.
Rebecca Morrell faces similar charges for allegedly participating in the incident by communicating with the men via radio while they were inside the victims' home. During the incident, the intruders took a wallet, a purse, a cellphone and a gun.
Ronald Morrell, Quam and DeBruyn's cases were set for a status conference Jan. 23 and a trial Jan. 26, while Rebecca Morrell's case was set for a status conference Jan. 30 and trial Feb. 2.
Arrest made in 2011 Iosco slaying
While some may have believed a 2011 murder of an Iosco Township landscaper was fast becoming a cold case, detectives continued to pursue leads and a suspect.
In 2014, Livingston County Sheriff Department detectives' search came to an end with the arrest of Anthony Sean Duke, 26, who was arraigned in June on a first-degree murder charge in connection with the shooting death of Ronald Hauser, who was found in the basem*nt of his home in the 11000 block of Roberts Road, near Farmer John's Lane, on New Year's Eve 2011.
Duke's case is pending in Circuit Court, where he is tentatively scheduled for a pretrial hearing in January.
Testimony at an October hearing in District Court revealed that Duke commented on Facebook that he had $30,000 to spend. That statement led detectives to investigate Duke's alleged involvement in the murder because Hauser, who knew Duke, was known to carry large sums of money.
Police say Hauser was shot from outside his home and that the bullet sabots found at the murder scene are consistent with those found at Duke's home and his father's home. Sabots are used to fire a projectile smaller than the bore diameter of a weapon.
Duke also is charged with home invasion and related felony firearms. The latter charge carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence to be served consecutive to any other conviction.
Duke's criminal history includes convictions for receiving and concealing stolen property and felonious assault.
Child suffers accidental overdose
The community expressed sadness and outrage against a former Fowlerville couple who failed to get help for a 4-year-old girl who accidentally swallowed a controlled substance.
In July, family members called the incident a "mistake" and Assistant Prosecutor Betsy Geyer Sedore agreed "there was a mistake" by co-defendants Jared Kyle Brock and Chelsie Lenee Marme, both of Perry, who allowed Brock's 4-year-old niece, Taylor Farr, to get a Suboxone pill, which caused her death in August 2013. However, their failure to call 911 or take the child to the hospital was criminal negligence, she said.
"The criminal part comes when you do nothing about it to help her beyond calling a few friends and hoping it goes away," Sedore said. "That's where it comes to criminal negligence, and they continued to lie after (Taylor) died to protect themselves."
Brock was sentenced to nine years to 30 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and nine years to 20 years in prison for child abuse in connection with the death of Taylor.
The judge sentenced Marme to 53 months to 15 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and 53 months to 10 years in prison for child abuse for her part in the child's death.
"I miss Taylor with every breath I take," Brock said, pausing to wipe tears from his face. "She deserved better than what I gave her. All I had to do was call 911, and I was too scared to do that. ... The guilt is beating me down day by day."
Marme, 22, bawled as she turned to Taylor's father, Boyd Farr, and apologized.
"I'm so sorry," she said.
In a March hearing, witnesses testified that Marme and Brock were baby-sitting Taylor at Brock's mother's home when the girl got access to a Suboxone pill, which is a synthetic opiate approved for treatment of opiate dependence. The couple failed to get help for Taylor despite numerous friends advising them to do so, and they failed to tell the girl's maternal grandmother, who had custody of the child.
A medical examiner said the 4-year-old died of buprenorphine intoxication. Buprenorphine is an opioid medication in Suboxone.
In a police interview, Brock admitted that he did not help his niece because he was afraid of getting into trouble and that he was afraid his mother would lose custody of his niece.
Marme's attorney said at her sentencing hearing that despite the nature of the crime and her client's current circ*mstances, her client was ready to redeem herself.
Brock's attorney acknowledged that the couple should have called 911, but he said it was surprising to his client and to himself to learn at the couple's preliminary exam in March that a child simply licking the pill could lead to death.
Contact Daily Press & Argus reporter Lisa Roose-Church at 517-552-2846 or at lrchurch@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @LisaRooseChurch.
TOP COURT STORIES OF 2014
1. Grand River Avenue shooting incident ends with one dead, one charged.
2. Raulie Wayne Casteel, the accused Interstate 96 corridor shooter, goes to trial.
3. Armed intruders hold family, friends against their will.
4. Arrest made, charges filed in 2011 murder case.
5. Child dies after swallowing prescription medication.
