Public Safety

Sept. 4, 2011

MAN STABS SELF
A 50-year-old man who told police he was stabbed by robbers actually stabbed himself to cover up gambling losses.
The man first reported that he’d been stabbed and his wallet robbed as he walked on Eighth Street in TC at around 2:15 a.m. Sept. 2.
Police later learned the man stabbed himself in the abdomen because he didn’t want to tell his family he’d just lost over $1,000 at a casino, TC Police Capt. Brian Heffner said.


WOMAN KILLED IN CRASH
A semi and a passenger collided on US 131, killing an elderly woman.
Emmet County Sheriff’s deputies investigated the accident, which happened Sept. 1 at around 9:30 a.m. at the intersection of Intertown Road in Bear Creek Township.
Agnes Failey, 86, of Indianapolis and Harbor Springs, was pronounced dead at the scene, Sheriff Pete Wallin said.


GAS STATION HOLD-UP
Police are looking for a man who demanded money and cigarettes from a gas station clerk.
The Grand Traverse Sheriff’s Department is investigating the Sept.1 robbery at the Shell gas station at Hammond and Three Mile roads, Sheriff Thomas Bensley said.
A man entered the station at around 5:05 a.m. and told the clerk, “Give me all your cash and Newports.”
The suspect escaped with money and 23 packs of cigarettes. He never showed or implied he had a weapon, Bensley said.
Police are looking for a black man in his 30s, about five feet nine inches tall and weighing around 150 pounds. He wore sunglasses, a baseball cap, gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans. Anyone with information should call police at (231) 995-5000.


ACCIDENTAL CAMPGROUND SHOOTING
A 69-year-old Romulus woman was injured in an accidental shooting.
Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating the incident, which happened Sept. 2 at around 3:30 a.m.
Police and an ambulance were called to the EZ Mart in Interlochen where they learned the shooting happened at the Dubonnet Campground, where the woman was camping with her 61-year-old brother.


MOTORCYCLE-DOG CRASH
A motorcyclist was injured and a dog killed when the dog ran into the biker’s path.
Charlevoix County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the Aug. 31 crash at around 6:45 p.m. in Marion Township, according to a press release.
Steven Curtis, 51, of Charlevoix, was headed west when a black lab ran across the road. Curtis struck and killed the dog and laid his motorcycle down, causing him to fall and slide about 50 feet.


ROBBERY ARREST
Two men face robbery charges after a man said they held and punched him while an unidentified man took his watch, cellphone and cash.
TC Police officers on patrol on the 100 block of South Union Street were approached by a bleeding man Aug. 27 at 1:45 a.m.
The 28-year-old TC man told police he’d been walking near the Union Street Dam when he was jumped and beaten. He said cash and other items were stolen from him during the assault, Capt. Steve Morgan said.
The officers checked the area and found two suspects who then fled. One of them was arrested and items belonging to the victim were recovered.
Gregory Sawmick, 30, from Suttons Bay, was jailed on charges of strong-armed robbery. Police later arrested Dakota George Stevens, 30, of Suttons Bay, who faces the same charge. The victim said a third man took his stuff while he was beaten, but that man has not been identified.


SIXTH SHOPLIFTING CASE
A woman accused of attempting to steal over $1,000 worth of video games from Sears has five previous convictions for shoplifting.
Haley Elisha Robertson, 34, of Traverse City, faces a charge of felony retail fraud.
An assistant manager at the Garfield Township Sears store told police he saw Robertson leave Aug. 23 with items she had not paid for worth $1,038, according to the charges. The items were video games and video game accessories, Grand Traverse Sheriff’s Department Lt. Chris Clark said.
Robertson was arraigned on the charge on Aug. 26 and ordered not to enter any retail establishments if she is released on bond.
According to court records, Robertson has convictions for retail fraud on five previous occasions, dating back to 1996.


FLAT-SCREEN TV CRIME SPREE
Know someone who inexplicably acquired three flat-screen TVs and a 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix? Police would like to hear from you.
Tuscarora Township Police are investigating a burglary at the Indian River VFW Post Aug. 30 where theives made off with a flat-screen TV, a printer, a laptop and money. Anyone who has any information about the break-in should call the township police at (231) 238-9481.
In Cheboygan, thieves struck the Moose Lodge on Huron Street the same night. Plunderers opened cabinets and a safe and made off with cash, a flat-screen computer monitor, and a flat-screen TV, according to the Cheboygan Department of Public Safety.
A day earlier, a break-in was reported at the Cheboygan Life Support Systems garage. Two employees were asleep in the building when the theft occurred and someone stole a flat-screen TV, an employee’s wallet, and an employee’s car, a 2007 black Pontiac Grand Prix, police said.
Anyone with information about the break-ins in the city of Cheboygan is asked to call police at (231) 627-4321.


MAN THREATENS WOMAN
A homeless man is in jail accused of assaulting a woman and then threatening to kill her.
Grand Traverse Sheriff’s deputies arrested Brian Jeffrey Sandberg Aug. 24. Sandberg, who is unemployed, is alternately listed as homeless and having an address in Romulus in court records.
Sandberg, 33, is accused of assaulting the woman at a residencee on W. Silver Lake Road by pushing her to the ground and then punching and kicking her in the head, face and torso. He also is reported to have told a deputy, upon arrest, that he would kill the woman once released, according to the charges.
Sandberg was held on a $50,000 cash bond.
Sandberg faces charges of assault with intent to do great bodily harm and being a three-time habitual offender. His previous convictions include one for assault with intent to murder in 1997. Sandberg was discharged from prison in 2009.


UNWANTED GUEST ARRESTED
A man who entered someone else’s house faces felony charges after he was arrested in Emmet County’s Littlefield Township.
Emmet County Sheriff’s deputies responded Aug. 28 at approximately 5:40 p.m. after a man was reported to have entered a residence on Haines Road and caused an altercation, Sheriff Peter Wallin said in a press release.
Michael Van Allsburg, 22, of Petoskey, faces charges of home invasion, a 20-year felony, and aggravated stalking, a 5-year felony.
Van Allsburg remained in jail in lieu of a $10,000 cash bond, Wallin said.


MAN OVERBOARD DIES
A man died after he capsized in a rowboat while fishing.
Two men in a row boat on Shell Lake in Leelanau County wound up in the water after one of them stood up in the boat at around 9:20 p.m. Aug. 31.
Charles Herweh, 71, and George Houdek, 77, were able to right the boat and they attempted to swim to shore while clinging its side, police said.

Houdek became unresponsive during the swim and was pulled to shore by Herweh, who got to a nearby residence and called for help. Houdek was taken to Munson Medical Center but he died.
Leelanau County Sheriff Mike Oltersdorf said it appeared Houdek died of a medical issue and did not drown, but a final determination will be made by the county medical examiner.


MOTORCYCLE CRASH
A motorcyclist was injured after a pickup pulled out in front of him.
State police were called to the crash at 6:25 a.m. Aug. 30 on North Mitchell Street in Haring Township near Cadillac.
Anthony Price, 34, of Manton, was listed in serious condition at Munson Medical Center.
A 1986 Chevy pickup driven by Kevin Schaaf, 54, of Lake City, exited the parking lot of Kountry Kitchen into the path of Price’s motorcycle, according to a press release from the Cadillac Post of the Michigan State Police.