Crime

Last week, I mentioned the possibility of Genesee County Commissioners charging inmates for their jail stay. Now, Sheriff Pickell has put a request to the commissioners, asking them to allow him to start charging the inmates. The Flint Journal says they could potentially go after tax refunds, wages and bank accounts if they can't get the inmates to pay on their own.

As Genesee County faces a $17 million deficit, the county board of commissioners is tossing around the idea of making inmates pay for their jail time. The Flint Journal says Sheriff Pickell was starting to work on a similar type of option and is supposed to report back to the commissioners soon.

Corrine Baker, mother of four-year-old Dominick Calhoun who died in April of 2010, has pleaded guilty two charges tied to his murder. ABC-12 reports she pleaded guilty to second degree murder and second degree child abuse. Investigators felt Corrine didn't do enough to stop the abuse that Calhoun suffered.

It looks like some of the Genesee County Jail Inmates have been helping in a variety of community clean-ups around the area. Yesterday they were out helping to get ready for the Crim by assisting with putting up fences, picking up trash and other duties they were assigned to.

As crime continues to be a problem in Genesee County,  Sheriff Pickell took a moment to talk about drugs exploding in the area especially heroin. The sheriff wanted to give his thoughts on the problem and how they're working with other agencies to crack down on the problem:

This morning we had our monthly visit with Flint Mayor Dayne Walling and we asked him to talk about the continued positive changes happening in the city. Walling said he was proud of the partnerships coming together which is creating a positive momentum:

There was a tragedy that took place yesterday at Price's Airport in Fenton Township. Nix Construction was on site looking to extend sewer lines and Joseph Filpansick opened the manhole cover to look for the lines. Sheriff Pickell explains what happened as he opened the cover:

Next week there will be extra patrols on the streets with extra officers and volunteers from the Blue Badge Program. With the 68th District Court moving back to the McCree Building, six officers will be able to hit the streets since they won't need to be doing court security in that area anymore, according to ABC-12.

Recently Flint City Council members approved a drag racing ordinance, in which police can give out harsher penalties and fines for those involved. ABC-12 reports that city council wants to step it up even more to create harsher punishments because of all the problems they've had in the past.

It's been a few weeks since the state has given Genesee County $1 million to invest in the release of inmates to other counties in order to bring more criminals in. Sheriff Pickell sat down to discuss the progress the county has made since the initiative started:

WNEM reports that the Genesee Township Police department is investigating two deadly hit and run incidents that have happened within a week of each other. Last Sunday a girl was hit on North Dort Highway when she was walking on the side of the road with a group of friends from Skateland Arena.

Earlier this morning, 75 South at Miller Road in Flint Township was blocked off for several hours due to an accident. A press release states that the accident involved a 33-year-old man who was hit and died in the incident.