Detroit, MI

Detroit chief judge hopes other judge handcuffing sleepy teen won’t undermine court

Published

2 years ago

August 16, 2024

Detroit chief judge hopes other judge handcuffing sleepy teen won’t undermine court

The teen girl was sleepy because she had no permanent spot to stay. But the Detroit judge who caught her nodding off in his courtroom wanted to send a message.

Days after having the teen don jail garb and handcuffs while threatening jail time, 36th District Court Judge Kenneth King is receiving death threats and was temporarily removed from his docket. The girl is traumatized and afraid. Her family hired a lawyer.

It’s a situation antithetical to “the people’s court” atmosphere that one of Detroit’s busiest courts aims to provide, acknowledged Chief Judge William McConico. He also announced King’s temporary removal from the docket and required training.

“We sincerely hope that this incident does not undermine our longstanding relationships with local schools. Our thoughts and actions are now with the student and her family, and we are committed to taking these corrective measures to demonstrate that this incident is an isolated occurrence,” McConico said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

“We are dedicated to ensuring that our court continues to uphold the highest standards of fairness and respect.”

‘My daughter is hurt’

Eva Goodman, 15, works with The Greening of Detroit, a nonprofit that aims to improve the “green infrastructure” of the city. On Tuesday, Goodman and peers with the project attended King’s courtroom to both watch proceedings and learn from the judge.

While speaking to the teens, King noticed Goodman sleeping. Video of King’s courtroom showed he yelled at her to wake up, but minutes later saw her sleeping again. At that point he ordered her taken into custody.

Latoreya Till said her daughter acknowledged sleeping, but did not understand the gravity of the situation. She has never been in a courtroom before, and never been in trouble before, Till explained.

After court staff led Goodman out of the room, Till said they told her daughter to undress and put on a green jail jumpsuit. Till said her daughter refused to take off certain clothing items, but was given the opportunity to change in an empty room. While there was no staff present in the room observing the minor changing, Till said her daughter believes there was a security camera.

After she changed, Goodman was handcuffed. Video shows she remained out of King’s courtroom for roughly two hours before he brought her back. At that point, he held a hearing, asking a defense lawyer to help her before berating her for sleeping and threatening her with jail time.

Ultimately, King allowed Goodman to leave, but not before asking her peers for a show of hands to decide whether she needed to spend time in jail.

“My daughter is hurt. She is feeling scared. She didn’t want to go to work. She feels like as if her peers went against her. She was real nervous and intimidated,” Till told the Free Press in a phone interview.

“We have to bounce around currently because we don’t have a permanent address. And so, that particular night, we got in kind of late. And usually, when she goes to work, she’s up and planting trees or being active.”

King told the Free Press on Wednesday he thought he acted appropriately.

“I wasn’t trying to punish the young lady. What I was trying to do was, I was trying to serve as a deterrence,” King said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon.

“I wanted to instill in this kid that this is not a joke, this is a very serious situation.”

But Till said her daughter did not need the lesson: she’s a kind, smart, funny, athletic teen.

“(King) basically was being a big bully to a child that was sleeping and unaware of the etiquette of a courtroom, because she’s never been there, she’s never been in trouble,” Till said. “She’s not a problem child.”

‘You guys are making me tear up’

King did not return a phone message seeking additional comment on Thursday.

Before being removed from his docket, King conducted court as usual on Thursday, according to YouTube footage of his courtroom. Throughout the morning, viewers commented with messages of support for King.

About 27 minutes into the footage, in between hearings, King appears to review the YouTube comments. Then someone posting under the name “CTRM 234 36^th District Court” typed in the chat “receiving death threats.”

King typically presides over courtroom 234.

At the end of his morning docket, he turned to the camera and gave the “heart hands” symbol.

“That concludes the docket for today, folks. Hope to see you tomorrow, same bat station, same bat time,” he said, making a reference to the classic Batman television show.

Later, he appears to type several more times in the chat.

“You guys are making me tear up,” he writes, wiping his eyes, as commenters wish him well.

His final post indicated he’s not allowed to comment on his situation.

It’s unclear how long he will be removed from the docket.

Reach Dave Boucher at dboucher@freepress.com and on X, previously called Twitter, @Dave_Boucher1.

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Detroit, MI

Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick accuses prosecutors of

Published

11 hours ago

April 3, 2026

Press Room

Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick accuses prosecutors of

In a continued fight over the restitution owed to the city of Detroit, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick accuses federal prosecutors of “bullying” in their attempt to collect money following his 2013 conviction.

Federal authorities attempted to seize $13,167 from a Comerica Bank account after it was discovered this year. According to federal authorities, the account was listed in the name of Pathfinder Consulting LLC under Kilpatrick’s name.

In response, Kilpatrick filed a motion to object to a garnishment order on April 1, claiming that he does not own or manage the account and that his wife, LaTicia Kilpatrick, is the rightful holder. Kilpatrick claims that despite telling prosecutors that he did not own the account, authorities still put a hold on it.

“The only reason that this account was frozen and made a part of the garnishment process is because the federal authorities doctored and deformed the court order to have movant’s name on it, Kwame Kilpatrick, and the Pathfinder Consulting Firm bank account number,” read the motion. “They knowingly misguided the court and Comerica Bank with their order for these funds. They intentionally misled the court by not putting LaTicia Kilptrick on the order because they absolutely knew that it was not my account.”

CBS News Detroit reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for comment Thursday night and is awaiting a response.

This comes more than a month after Kilpatrick agreed to pay the $823,649 in restitution following his 2013 conviction on racketeering, bribery, extortion and other charges. Records show Kilpatrick agreed that any pension benefits and other forms of income would be garnished.

Kilpatrick was also approved for a payment plan.

In his latest motion, Kilpatrick claimed that prosecutors wanted to pull funds from the account and asked him to speak to his wife about it. Kilpatrick claims that the freezing of the Comerica account, his inability to access his “financial resources” and documents being leaked resulted in him having to remove his children from school and losing out on speaking engagements.

“I have constantly maintained that I am not involved in the management, executive decision-making, nor any banking issues concerning her business or financial affairs,” Kilpatrick wrote.

He later wrote, “LaTicia is not under any federal court jurisdiction, has never committed a crime, nor is she currently involved in any matter with any state or federal court … This bullying at best, but much more akin to extortion.”

Kilpatrick also claims that prosecutors violated a stipulated agreement regarding the restitution he owed. He says a percentage of his retirement check was agreed to go toward the outstanding balance, and prosecutors would unfreeze the account where the check was being deposited. However, he claims prosecutors failed to submit information to the court so the account could be released.

“Instead of honoring the court ordered stipulated agreement, the United States Attorney took two whole months of retirement funds and left the account with a ZERO balance. Which is not only count to the court order, but much more wicked in its intent, immorally leaving [Kilpatrick’s] family without any of their own money, and maliciously executed,” Kilpatrick wrote.

In the midst of a restitution battle, records show that Kilpatrick is at risk of losing a home in Novi over more than $50,000 in unpaid property taxes. Records show that taxes were not paid in 2024 and 2025.

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Detroit, MI

After Deep Dive, Detroit Lions Learned What Went Wrong With Offense

Published

23 hours ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

After Deep Dive, Detroit Lions Learned What Went Wrong With Offense

The Detroit Lions offense failed to meet expectations at certain points throughout the 2025 NFL season.

With center Frank Ragnow abruptly retiring, the team’s offensive line struggled to gel, resulting in the run game being inconsistent and quarterback Jared Goff being pressured far more often than he or the coaching staff would like.

Speaking with Fox 2 Detroit at the annual league meetings, head coach Dan Campbell shared what he learned following a deep dive of last year’s film.

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“I think a lot of it, our efficiency was not good,” said Campbell. “We’ve heard that word a lot, that’s with the run game. In critical moments, what we’ve done a really good job of for four years prior to last year, was when we needed to run the ball, when we needed it in criticals, to set up the rest of the game, it was there for us, we found a way. We were not able to do that.”

With both tight ends suffering injuries, the ability to block effectively was clearly noticeable. Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright are a significant reason the Lions’ offense had success the past couple of seasons.

Removing them both from the offense had a detrimental impact on the ability to rush the football and to extend drives.

Far too often, Detroit’s third-down conversion percentages were not at the rate needed to keep drives extended. In the end, the struggles of the offense put the defense in disadvantageous positions as well.

“Look, there’s multiple reasons. It falls on my shoulders, some of it was the offensive line, some of it was losing Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright,” said Campbell. “That had a significant blow too, now. All of those things. That’s why we go through the cut-ups. You check yourself, but also, from a personnel standpoint, where can we get a little bit better and help our guys.”

While Campbell did not mention the issues with John Morton, Detroit’s offense was not the same with the experienced coach at the helm.

Explosive plays were a struggle and Goff was forced to toss the football quite quickly. His average air yards per pass was down compared to 2024.

Detroit made the decision to part ways with Morton and hired Drew Petzing to lead the offense in 2026. Campbell indicated he has been impressed very early on with what the former Cardinals coordinator has brought to the table.

For more comprehensive Detroit Lions coverage and NFL insider analysis, follow us on X, @detroitpodcast, head on over to our Facebook page and give it a like, subscribe to the Detroit Lions On SI Lone Wolves YouTube Channel.

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Detroit, MI

‘Outpouring of love’: Hundreds gather for vigil at park in remembrance of man found in Detroit River

Published

1 day ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

‘Outpouring of love’: Hundreds gather for vigil at park in remembrance of man found in Detroit River

ECORSE, Mich. – It was a stunning outpouring of love and sorrow at John Dingell Park on Wednesday night.

More than 100 people filled the park tonight for Tyler Bojanowski, the 25-year-old Wyandotte man who was found dead in the Detroit River on Monday (March 30) afternoon.

“The love and support that we received from everybody, that helped,” Delray Dillon, Bojanowski’s stepfather, said. “We just really want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for the support, the love, and the prayers.”

Dozens of candles were lit, many with his face on them, as people came by and gave hugs to his heartbroken parents.

Between prayer and tears, Tyler’s family took time to thank everyone who loved him and helped in the search.

Tyler was first reported missing by his mother, Nicole Dillon, after he failed to return home following a night out with friends on Feb. 4.

She told police her son had also recently suffered a brain injury from a car crash.

The vigil was held at John Dingell Park, which, sadly, was the last place Tyler was seen alive.

His passport was found in a gazebo on the day he was reported missing.

There is no official word on how Bojanowski died, as the medical examiner has not reported the cause of death.

A GoFundMe Page has been set up to cover his memorial services.

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