DETROIT POLICE CHIEF SLAMS JUDGE OVER DIDMISSAL

By Robert Allen | Detroit Free Press | December 15, 2016

DETROIT -- Detroit Police Chief James Craig says a judge's dismissal of a threat of terrorism charge against a man accused of spray-painting "kill all police" and "kill James Craig" on a building will empower people "who threaten, who shoot at police officers."

"I'm fighting nationally on this issue: We have to be a united front against violence on first responders, against violence on police officers," Craig said at a news conference Wednesday, a day after a district judge dismissed the charge against Stuart H. Lewis, 49, of Detroit.

Lewis was bound over Tuesday for trial on related charges of malicious destruction of a building (maximum penalty: 93 days) and possession with intent to deliver marijuana (four years), according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.

But District Judge Deborah Lewis Langston dismissed the terrorism charge, which would have carried up to 20 years in prison, finding that there wasn't enough evidence for it to move forward.

Lewis is accused of spray-painting a commercial building Oct. 20 on the 200 block of West State Fair Avenue, near John R S in Detroit.

Craig, who testified against Lewis at Tuesday's preliminary examination, said he held the news conference to explain his opposition to Langston's decision. He also said the defendant threatened an investigator while he was being interviewed, but that charges weren't pressed on that.

Since mid-September, two Detroit police officers and one Wayne State University police officer have been killed while on duty in the city. In the two Detroit police cases, suspects have been charged with murder, and the investigation on the Wayne State case has resumed after a suspect was released.

This year in the U.S., 137 police officers have died in the line of duty, up 15% from last year, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, which tracks the data.

Craig said he believes the allegations against Lewis would not have been dismissed if the incident were in Oakland or Macomb counties, As an example, he mentioned the case of Royal Oak doctor and medical-marijuana facility director who is charged with about 22 felony charges alleging threats on Oakland County prosecutors, a retired judge, bailiffs and others. That case is being handled by the Genesee County Prosecutor's Office, and the Detroit News reports that a preliminary examination in that case is pending psychiatric testing.

In a separate Wayne County case, Lewis is accused of felonious assault (maximum penalty: five years incarceration) and using a firearm in a felony (two years, consecutive to assault count) stemming from an Oct. 17 incident at his home in the 19900 block of Exeter. In that case, he is accused wielding a BB shotgun when confronting a man who arrived to repossess his truck, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. Langston on Tuesday bound over Lewis on both charges.

Lewis is to be arraigned on both cases at 9 a.m. Dec. 20 in Wayne County Circuit Court. His bond in both cases is $25,000 or 10% with a GPS tether.