Driver beaten by crowd after hitting boy is in critical condition

[JalexM]

Nothing surprises me anymore when I hear it's from certian places. I just get sad and hope somehow in the future it'll get better sooner than later.

[DocM]

Updated - more arrests, hate crime on the table and more....

http://m.detnews.com/metro/article?a=2014304070072&f=1211

4 in custody as Detroit beating probe widens into hate crime investigation

Detroit -- With four suspects now in custody, police and prosecutors are "widening the scope" of their investigation into last week's beating of a 54-year-old white motorist to include the possibility that the mob assault was a hate crime, Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Monday.

Two more suspects, ages 24 and 30, were arrested Monday in connection with the April 2 beating of Steven Utash of Clinton Township, while prosecutors announced charges against a 17-year-old and questioned a 16-year-old, both in custody.

Meanwhile, the victim remains in critical condition in a medically induced coma at St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit.

Craig said reports that Utash was robbed by the mob are false.

"We're widening the scope of our investigation," Craig said when asked if the beating constituted a hate crime. "Both our strategy and the prosecutor's strategy is widening, and those factors are being looked into very closely. I can't reveal some things about our investigation, but that is definitely something we're considering."

Hate crimes may be charged locally or federally. In addition to federal laws, which carry up to 10 years in prison, Michigan ethnic intimidation statute is a two-year felony.

Maria Miller, spokeswoman for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, declined to comment on the hate crime aspect because the case is ongoing. Prosecutor Kym Worthy on Monday charged 17-year-old Bruce Edward Wimbush Jr. in connection with Utash's beating.

Wimbush is charged with assault with intent to murder and assault with intent to do great bodily harm.

He was to be arraigned Monday in 36th District Court, but the hearing was postponed, and will likely take place this morning, Miller said.

"The facts of this case are unbelievably tragic," Worthy said in a statement. "We have charged this defendant with a capital offense."

In reviewing a warrant request against the 16-year-old in custody, prosecutors are trying to determine whether he should be charged as an adult. That teen is being held in the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Center, according to Worthy.

"By law, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office is able to take five days to determine whether the respondent will be charged as an adult," the prosecutor's office said.

The 16-year-old appeared in court Monday afternoon before Referee Anthony Crutchfield at the Juvenile Detention Center. The suspect is due back in court on Saturday.

Wimbush was ruled "incorrigible" by juvenile authorities in 2007, 2008 and 2010, according to court documents, although Wimbush's files were unavailable Monday. In Michigan, being ruled incorrigible means a minor is guilty of repeated, serious misconduct.

The 16-year-old, who will turn 17 on May 19, has a 2012 truancy incident on his record, court records show. His parents and other relatives left the Wayne County juvenile center downtown without commenting to reporters about the charges.

An elderly woman claiming to be the boy's relative said of Utash: "We pray he comes back to his natural state."

Utash, a tree-trimmer, was on his way home from work at about 4:10 p.m. when police say he accidentally struck 10-year-old David Harris near Morang and McKinney.

When Utash left his pickup to check on the boy, a group of about 12 men from the neighborhood began to beat him, police said.

Police said Utash was not at fault in the accident and that the 10-year-old is recovering.

Craig blamed "a culture of violence" for the situation.

"I've not seen this kind of violent culture in other cities," Craig said. "It certainly exists, but not to this extent. Several mornings ago, a 71-year-old man was beaten by a two-by-four. This happens in other places, too, but it's all too common here. And Detroiters are getting fed up. They're tired of being victims."

Craig said he's doing what he can to quell the city's violence, and pointed out that crime is down since he took over as chief in July.

As of late Monday afternoon, nearly $120,000 had been raised online to help with medical expenses for Utash, who is self-employed and did not have health coverage, relatives said. The original goal was $50,000. However, family members say the cost of his treatments is running $17,000 to $20,000 daily.

[+Anarkii Subscriber²]

In cases like this, I support guns in America. 
They should shoot the kid, and the guys who beat that man up. 

[Charisma Veteran]

^I don't know about the kid--kids do dumb things, especially one growing up in a place like that. But the older guys that mobbed him? Yeah, I have to admit that if Utash had a gun, things probably wouldn't have turned out as badly as they did. Or maybe it would have been worse, since there's a good chance one of the people beating him up had one as well.

[Chicane-UK Veteran]

It's just impossible to feel any sympathies for the community involved here with this sort of mob mentality. It's disgraceful. All those involved should be sent to jail for a long time and we can only hope the driver makes a full recovery, although I'm sure the psychological scarring will last a lifetime. 

[DocM]

Some parts of that town should be phasered from orbit.

[LaP]

Sad story.

 

But can't say i'm surprised. You hear about stories like this on a daily basis these days.

 

Glad i'm living in a peaceful city

[DocM]

http://m.detnews.com/metro/article?a=2014304110078&f=1211

Detroit -- Steven Utash's relatives were cautiously optimistic Friday he may be slowly recovering from the wounds he suffered after being assaulted by a mob last week, although they say he's reliving the attack, thrashing in his hospital bed and calling for help.

Utash, a Clinton Township tree-trimmer whose April 2 beating made national headlines, is no longer in a coma, family members said.

"He is off the ventilator and is able to breathe on his own," Utash's daughter, Mandi Emerick, posted Friday morning on a website set up to raise funds to help pay medical costs for her father, who doesn't have health insurance.

"He is in and out of it with his memories," Emerick wrote. "Sometimes he can look at me and remember who I am and other times he can't. Today when I asked him how old he is he said 'I'm two years old' but he did know his name.

"He does keep saying 'I don't want to die. I'm sorry' and 'Please don't let me forget you.' He also keeps flashing back to the assault screaming for help and 'Please get them off me.' He didn't seem to know what happened to him or why he was in the hospital, but again it is way to(o) early to tell. He is also on many pain medications which are causing him to be delirious."

His brother-in-law Max Mohr, told The News that doctors decided Thursday to take off the ventilator.

"They put him on breathing treatments," he said. "He's coming in and out of consciousness. When he looked at Mandi yesterday, he started crying, then went back out. He knows who Mandi is, and he knows who (his son) Joe is, but he doesn't recognize his youngest daughter (Felicia).

"He's still pretty delirious," Mohr said. "He's been talking about people from 20 years ago. He was asking for my grandma; she's been dead for 6-7 years now."

In her written update, Emerick also expressed tentative optimism.

"These are baby steps," she wrote. "He is able to wiggle (h)is toes on command and answer yes or no questions. It's to(o) soon to tell if he's going to have any memory loss or long-term damage. The frontal lobe is what was affected the most and that is where his memories and personality are and this is a long road ahead but the end of the road will be worth it.

"It is so hard to see him like this."

In other developments Friday, a 19-year-old man was charged in connection with the April 2 beating, which happened when Utash got out of his truck to check on the well-being of a 10-year-old boy who was struck after he dashed into traffic in front of Utash's vehicle near Morang and Balfour on the city's east side.

Latrez Cummings is the latest suspect accused of taking part in the beating. Cummings, arrested Wednesday after a short foot chase, did not have an attorney present during his arraignment via video Friday in 36th District Court.

Magistrate Millicent Sherman entered a not guilty plea on his behalf after reading the charges against him: assault with intent to commit murder, and assault with intent to do great bodily harm.

Latrezz Cummings arraigned re: Utash beating. $500k bond April 11, 2014

The judge set bond at $500,000, the same as three other men -- Bruce Edward Wimbush Jr., a 17-year-old East English Preparatory Academy student; Wozney Saffold, 30, and James Deontae Davis, 24 -- who were arraigned earlier this week on the same charges.

All four defendants are scheduled for an April 21 preliminary examination to determine if they'll stand trial.

A 16-year-old, who was charged with assault and ethnic intimidation in the case is scheduled to be arraigned Saturday. A police source familiar with the investigation told The Detroit News he's the only one of the five suspects who mentioned Utash's race as a reason for assaulting him.

David Harris, the boy who was injured after surveillance video shows he darted into Steve Utash's path, suffered a minor leg injury.

The Utash family has raised nearly $159,000 in donations to the victim, a tree-trimmer who doesn't have medical insurance. The family has set up a trust fund for donations at P.O. Box 761 Warren MI 48090-0761.

[FloatingFatMan]

... Those sacks of crap really did a number on this poor guy... :(

 

BTW, what happened to the kid?

[DocM]

Simple leg fracture. He's home, but not out of hot water - he was playing chicken with traffic when hit. Security cams recorded it all.

[DocM]

http://m.detnews.com/metro/article?a=2014304150099&f=1211

Detroit mob beating victim slowly getting better

Detroit --Steve Utash is taking baby steps toward recovery.

The victim of a brutal April 2 mob beating who was in a medically-induced coma for more than a week, has walked a short distance in his hospital room, although he's still floating in and out of consciousness, his brother-in-law said Tuesday.

"He's standing and can walk a few steps," said Max Mohr. "He stands but can get about 2 steps and that's it. But that's great to us. It's only been 2 weeks (since the beating)."

Utash was driving home from his job as a tree-trimmer at about 4:10 p.m. April 2 when 10-year-old David Harris darted into the street in the path of Utash's truck, which slammed into the boy, injuring his leg.

When the 54-year-old Clinton Township resident exited his truck to check on Harris, a group that had been loitering near a gas station descended on him and began hitting and kicking him, according to police.

Retired nurse Deborah Hughes saw the attack from the window of her home, so she grabbed her .38 caliber pistol and ran to the scene, where she yelled at the mob to stop beating Utash before rendering first aid until an ambulance arrived.

Four men and a teenager have been charged with assault with intent to murder for their alleged roles in the beating. The teen, 16, was also charged with ethnic intimidation. A police source familiar with the investigation told The Detroit News the teen, described by prosecutors as the instigator of the incident, said during an interrogation that he attacked Utash because he is white.

Police continue to investigate the incident, Detroit Police Sgt. Michael Woody said.

"The leads are starting to dwindle down, but we're confident we got the key players involved," Woody said. "Obviously, we're not going to stop investigating, but the information is coming in a lot slower, which is an indication that we've got who we're after."

Utash, who suffered head injuries from the beating, has sometimes had trouble recognizing his family since he first awoke Thursday night, Mohr said.

"(Monday, Utash) did not know (his kids) again, but today he does," Mohr said. "He's a fighter."

[FloatingFatMan]

Good news! :)

[leesmithg]

The US Justice Dept. under Attorney General Holder is very reluctant to prosecute black on white hate crime, though this case may be extreme enough to change that. Can't wait for that PC POS to go.

Michigan's AG on the other hand, and especially our very tough (black) female County Prosecutor, will be all over it. They don't give a rip which way the color balance goes.

Whatever the colour of your ski, your sexuality, your religious status, your financial status, if you rob and near kill another human, you should be tried and tested in a court of law.

 

I would guarantee 1989 would happen again if whitey robbed browny because some elderly man was involved in a traffic violation, to which, the child could had been to blame.

 

The men and maybe women that robbed and assaulted the man should be incarcerated.

 

Instead of seeing to the child and making the child safe and healthy they would rather rob an elderly man.

 

Shame on them.

[BajiRav]

Detroit ... it's not much of a surprise that they robbed him after beating him

Looks like they beat him because they wanted to rob him... these guys should be tried for attempted homicide (including the kid who got hit).

[DocM]

The mob members were charged with assault with intent to murder, so yeah.

[DocM]

UPDATE:

Thought I'd update Neowinians with some good news for a change.

Steven Utash was discharged from the rehabilitation hospital today and is home with his family.

He seems to be doing rather well under the circumstances; independent, walking around and enjoying his family, etc. but obviously he still has a lot of recovering to do. His memory is coming back.

(Y) (y)

[123456789A]

UPDATE:

Thought I'd update Neowinians with some good news for a change.

Steven Utash was discharged from the rehabilitation hospital today and is home with his family.

He seems to be doing rather well under the circumstances; independent, walking around and enjoying his family, etc. but obviously he still has a lot of recovering to do. His memory is coming back.

(Y) (Y)

 

That's good to hear. What happened to the criminals involved? Are they serving time yet?

[DocM]

One is out on bail & on a tether awaiting trial, and the others got such a high bail they're awaiting trial in the county jail. One is in juvie.

If I had to bet I'd guess the one on bail was a minor participant who ratted on the others for a reduced sentence.

The nurse who witnessed the attack, then stopped it by pulling her pistol on the mob while shielding Utash, is a local heroine.

[FloatingFatMan]

I'm glad the victim is doing much better! Indeed, this is good news! :)

[DocM]

UPDATE: the dominos fell.

After the first perp confessed and gave state's evidence all the others saw the writing on the wall and pled GUILTY in court. Sentencing later.

[FloatingFatMan]

UPDATE: the dominos fell.

After the first perp confessed and gave state's evidence all the others saw the writing on the wall and pled GUILTY in court. Sentencing later.

 

With the guilty plea, will they get lighter sentencing?

[DocM]

They pled down 1 charge but with the judge they drew they'd better lube up, a telephone pole is coming.

[ChopSuey]

With the guilty plea, will they get lighter sentencing?

 

Judges are pretty tough in Detroit. They'll get a nice long sentence. And it's safe to say they will have a rough time in jail.

[DocM]

Wonzey Saffold, 30, got 6-10 years and serious tongue lashings from the judge and Utash's brother in a Victim Impact Statement.

The brother also thanked Deborah Hughes, a nurse who pulled her revolver and shielded Utash from further attacks.

Bruce Wimbush, 18, was sentenced to a long probation and drug monitoring. He hit Utash but wasn't part of the main attack and turned State's Evidence.

An unnamed minor, 16, was sentenced to a juvie residential facility.

Two more sentences Thursday.