COURT NEWS

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent

This week’s court news includes an arraignment in a Benton Harbor homicide, a Michigan Court of Appeals decision in a civil wrongful death lawsuit involving the 2014 death of an Eau Claire man killed in a traffic accident as well as sentencings and other court proceedings.

A Benton Harbor man was arraigned Monday in Berrien County Trial Court on charges of first degree murder and concealing the death of an individual. The first charge carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison without the chance for parole, while the second one is a five year felony.

Berrien County Prosecutor Michael Sepic reported that Jerry Lee Osler, 60, of Lake Street in Benton Harbor, will next be in court March 13 for a pre-exam conference and March 19 for a preliminary hearing. His bond was set at $250,000 cash or surety.

Police arrived at the Lake Street home around 1 a.m. March 2 after a call of a man down. Officers found the body of Sylvester Booth, 57, in the home. He had been stabbed to death, apparently several days before the discovery of his body. Osler lived in the same house as Booth.

The Michigan Court of Appeals made two rulings Feb. 21 in the case involving the death of Michael Wrenn in 2014. Wrenn resided in an Eau Claire area adult foster care facility operated by Spectrum Health. He left the facility on Dec. 24, 2014 and was walking in the middle of the highway on M-140 at night when he was struck and killed by a motorist.

His estate sued both Spectrum Health, the operator of the foster care facility, and the supervising doctor. A Berrien County Trial Court judge had ruled against both Spectrum and the doctor. The Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the doctor but upheld the trial court ruling against Spectrum.

The case involving Spectrum now comes back to the trial court for further proceedings.

As for the doctor’s case, he claimed governmental immunity as he worked for Riverwood Center, the county’s mental health authority. He also argued successfully that the claim against him should have been for medical malpractice and not negligence and that the statute of limitations had expired for a medical malpractice claim.

There was news last week in the embezzlement case involving a Michigan State Police trooper.

Jesse Binns, 29, of Cassopolis, was arraigned in Cass County District Court

earlier in February on a felony charge of embezzlement over $1,000 and less than $20,000. That charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Last week, Binns waived his right to a preliminary hearing which had been scheduled for this week. The case will now be set for trial in Cass Circuit Court later this year.

Binns, has been the community service trooper for the Niles post since July 2017. The alleged embezzlement is not related to his work as a state police trooper but his actions as the assistant fire chief for the Central Cass Fire Department between January 2017 and September 2018. He is now suspended or on leave from both posts.

The case was investigated by Detective First Lt. Charles Christensen of the Michigan State Police Fifth District Headquarters in Paw Paw. Christensen testified Feb. 11 in a probable cause determination hearing that Binns allegedly took money from the fire department to cover gambling debts and medical expenses.

Christensen said his investigation found that the Central Cass Fire Department had a nonprofit account with the Greater Niles Community Federal Credit Union where only Binns as the assistant chief and Chief Jeff Locke had access to it.

Christensen testified that he found numerous unauthorized withdrawals from the account between January 2017 and September 2018. A number of the withdrawals were done from an ATM machine at the Four Winds Casino near Dowagiac.

He reported that several times money was transferred from the fire department account to Binns’ personal account. The total amount alleged to have been taken is $19,895.14. He testified that Binns admitted to taking the money to several members of the fire department last September.

In sentencings last week, a Berrien Springs man was sentenced to prison on drug and stolen property charges.

Justin Michael Miller, 22, of West Julius Street in Berrien Springs, pleaded guilty to possession of meth and receiving and concealing stolen firearms and was sentenced Friday in Cass Circuit Court to two concurrent terms of 40 months to 10 years in prison. He has credit for 172 days already served and must pay $1,676 in fines and costs.

He also pleaded guilty to delivery and manufacture of a controlled substance and was sentenced to credit for time served, 172 days, and $68 in fines and costs.

The incident occurred Sept. 10 at a home in the 200 block of East High Street in Dowagiac. Police searching the home found a stolen weapon, a large bag of marijuana, scales, cash and drug paraphernalia.

Miller said he wants to move on from this incident and be a better person. Besides these charges, he faces probation violation charges in Florida.

“You said your parents put drugs first, ahead of you and you’re doing the same thing,” Cass Circuit Judge Mark Herman said. “… You say you use meth but you don’t have a substance abuse problem. Look around you, at where you are.”

Joseph Carlos Rainey, 41, of South 13th Street in Niles, pleaded guilty to possession of meth and was sentenced to 18 months probation, credit for 76

days in jail served and $1,608 in fines and costs. He was given credit for time served, 76 days, and $300 in fines and costs for possession of marijuana.

The incident occurred Nov. 6 when he was stopped on M-51 north of Niles. He initially gave a false name and then ran from police.