Steve Neavling

A Saudi Arabian man was arrested at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Monday after authorities say he changed his story about why he carried a pressure cooker onto a plane, Reuters reports.

Hussain al-Khawahir, 33, first said he was taking the pressure cooker to a nephew.

“The Defendant then changed his story and admitted his nephew had purchased a pressure cooker in America before but it ‘was cheap’ and broke after the first use,” the complaint said.

A pressure cooker packed with explosive powder and shrapnel was used in the Boston Marathon bombing.

Al-Khawahir also was charged with altering his passport after a page was ripped out of it.

Daryl McCrary

DETROIT — Daryl McCrary is no stranger to the world of violence.

Having spent 21 years with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) he’s worked in places like Los Angeles and Baltimore. He’s gone undercover, he’s bought guns on the street and investigated gangs and violent crime.

As acting head of ATF in Detroit since October, McCrary says Detroit is as violent as any city in America, and more violent than many.

He says while he’s seen criminals in other cities modify their activity to try and avoid detection — and ultimately prison — Detroit criminals haven’t really bent much. He calls them “prideful” when it comes to street survival.

“Drive-by shootings. Home invasions. Aggravated assaults. I see a lot of things that I consider to be a throwback” to the old days.

No better example of the dangers in the city was the shootout last week between members of an ATF task force and a murder suspect they were trying to arrest near Linwood and Hooker on the city’s west side. The task force boxed in the suspect’s car. When officers approached, the suspect opened fire. One Detroit police officer on the task force was shot twice in the leg. Another Detroit cop on the task force suffered what was first thought to be gunshot wounds to the head.

But Deadline Detroit reported Sunday night that the officer may have actually been hit in the head by metal fragments, perhaps from a car, that came from a bullet striking the vehicle. The officer remains hospitalized. The suspect, Matthew Joseph, 23, was killed in the shootout.

To read more including a Q & A click here.

Daryl McCrary

DETROIT — Daryl McCrary is no stranger to the world of violence.

Having spent 21 years with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) he’s worked in places like Los Angeles and Baltimore. He’s gone undercover, he’s bought guns on the street and investigated gangs and violent crime.

As acting head of ATF in Detroit since October, McCrary says Detroit is as violent as any city in America, and more violent than many.

He says while he’s seen criminals in other cities modify their activity to try and avoid detection — and ultimately prison — Detroit criminals haven’t really bent much. He calls them “prideful” when it comes to street survival.

“Drive-by shootings. Home invasions. Aggravated assaults. I see a lot of things that I consider to be a throwback” to the old days.

No better example of the dangers in the city was the shootout last week between members of an ATF task force and a murder suspect they were trying to arrest near Linwood and Hooker on the city’s west side. The task force boxed in the suspect’s car. When officers approached, the suspect opened fire. One Detroit police officer on the task force was shot twice in the leg. Another Detroit cop on the task force suffered what was first thought to be gunshot wounds to the head.

But Deadline Detroit reported Sunday night that the officer may have actually been hit in the head by metal fragments, perhaps from a car, that came from a bullet striking the vehicle. The officer remains hospitalized. The suspect, Matthew Joseph, 23, was killed in the shootout.

To read more including a Q & A click here.

Steve Neavling

The FBI is investigating a Catholic priest in suburban Detroit accused of embezzling more than $400,000 from his church, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Troy police handed over the investigation of Rev. Edward Belczak, 67, a former pastor at St. Thomas More Parish in Troy for three decades, the Free Press wrote.

The Archdiocese of Detroit removed Belczak from his position after nearly three decades as allegations of financial improprieties surfaced.

Belczak is accused of padding his pay and bankrolling a ghost employee.

Steve Neavling

A division of the Department of Homeland Security spied and kept records on the Occupy Wall Street protests, even when they were peaceful the Huffington Post reports.

More than 250 records obtained by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund show the federal government was keeping close tabs on protesters.

“Taken together, the two sets of documents paint a disturbing picture of federal law enforcement agencies using their vast power in a systematic effort to surveil and disrupt peaceful demonstrations,” Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, said in a statement. “The federal agencies’ actions were not because Occupy represented a ‘terrorist threat’ or a ‘criminal threat,’ but rather because it posed a significant grassroots political challenge to the status quo.”

The department was watching demonstrations in Philadelphia, New York City, Chicago, Denver, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Tampa, Fla.

OTHER STORIES OF INTEREST

• Washington Man Indicted on Federal Hate Crime Charge for Allegedly Assaulting Sikh
• Feds End Taser Investigation in Orange County After 6-Year Investigation
• Man Accused of Killing ATF Agent Is Charged with Capital Murder
• Immigration Bill Could Be Held Hostage by Border Security Quandary
• ICE Raid Results in 16 Arrests at Phoenix Apartment Building

Suspect Matthew Joseph was fatally shot

DETROIT – The man suspected of shooting and wounding two Detroit police officers on Tuesday evening following a car chase on the city’s west side, had been on parole since last October after serving time for armed robbery, according to a law enforcement official and public records.

Matthew Renard Joseph, 23, of Detroit, was under surveillance Tuesday for a March 28, narcotics-related homicide, a source said. In the end, he was fatally shot by law enforcement.

The surveillance, which began shortly before 6 p.m. in the 3700 block of 25th Street, turned into a car chase. After police boxed Joseph’s car in at Linwood and Hooker, they got out of the car, law enforcement sources said.

Joseph then opened fire, striking one officer in the head and the other twice in the leg. Law enforcement shot back, killing him, authorities said. Two people in the suspect’s car, a man and a woman, were taken into custody, Detroit Police said.

To read full story click here.

Kwame Kilpatrick/deadline detroit

The FBI opened its investigation of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick more than 8 years ago after getting a variety of tips, the leader investigator on the case told WXYZ Channel 7 reports.

Channel 7 interviewed FBI Special Agent Bob Beeckman about an investigation that included some 70 agents, 1,000 witnesses and 40,000 text messages.

“If you have public officials that betray the trust of citizens, the whole fabric of society comes apart,” Beeckman told Channel 7.

The prosecution tallied more than 30 guilty convictions against Kilaptrick, his father and contractor Bobby Ferguson in the public corruption case two weeks ago.

Beekman said the most damning evidence was probably the text messages that revealed a lot about the former mayor’s administration.

Gregory Lee Holley Sr.

DETROIT — The tragic death of Gregory Holley Sr., a former ATF official killed in a robbery in Northern Virginia on Wednesday,has triggered an outpouring of kind words.

On a Facebook page created for him, some commented on the loss including Mike Morrissey, who formerly headed the Detroit ATF office.

Morrissey wrote:

“Greg was a good friend and dedicated family man. It was my honor and priviledge to have worked with him in the Detroit Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Greg was my Assistant and I recommended him for the Special Agent in Charge position when I retired. I was most impressed by his dedication and commitment to his God and his family. I am so saddened by his tragic and untimely death and my prayers and my thoughts go to his family and friends. May God be merciful to you in this time of mourning and may His peace be upon you as you navigate through this period of life. Thanks Greg for what you did for the men and women of this nation and for being such a great example of faith. I will miss you but I will look forward to our reunion in heaven.”

Shana Robinson wrote:

“Such a quiet spirited man, a warm smile, and friendly hello is how I will remember Bro. Greg. I am shocked and saddened by this senseless tragedy. Our prayers and thoughts are with the family and may God be your comforter and strengthen you during this time of grief. God Bless, We love you!!!”

A memorial service is set for Thursday at 7:00pm at Hylton Memorial Chapel, 14640 Potomac Mills Road, Woodbridge, VA.