<![CDATA[Detroit]]>

Detroit councilman wants ATF to investigate gun shop that sold weapon used to kill officer

July 18, 2022 by Cam Edwards Leave a Comment

The good news for Detroit City Council member Scott Benson is that the ATF is almost certainly already looking at the gun store that sold an AR-style pistol that was later used by a 19-year old in an ambush attack on Detroit police officer Loren Counts. The bad news for the councilman is that, at least for now, there doesn’t appear to be any reason to think that the gun store did anything improper during the transaction.

The gun in question wasn’t purchased by 19-year old Ehmani Thomas, who was shot and killed by police after he ambushed Counts earlier this month, and the individual who did purchase the firearm is already facing charges of engaging in a straw purchase, with police alleging that 26-year old Sheldon Thomas intended to sell the gun to the teenager since he was unable to purchase it himself.

Thomas allegedly sought to arm Davis, who should not have been been allowed to buy a weapon because of his criminal history, [Magistrate Judge Jonathan] Grey said. He pointed to the audio of Thomas telling agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that Davis was “not to be f—– with,” as well as the allegation that Thomas knew Davis had been briefly jailed in an unrelated incident a year prior.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Lanning argued that Thomas has made multiple efforts to supply Davis with a gun in the past, pointing out an instance from February that was unsuccessful. She also brought up an alleged incident in which Davis stole one of Thomas’ guns.
While Thomas purportedly warned Davis via text not to do anything stupid with the gun, that wasn’t enough, Grey said. During the transaction, Thomas allegedly told Davis: “Don’t do anything f——- stupid because my name is on (the gun),” according to the prosecutor’s criminal complaint.
“Your judgment has proven to be terrible in relation to the government’s allegations,” Grey said to Thomas.

Given the fact that Thomas is facing charges, I have no doubt that the police investigation has also looked at the actions of the gun shop that sold the pistol, and that includes the ATF. There’s no reason for this resolution, except for Benson’s desire to place blame on the shop and its employees. At the moment there doesn’t appear to be any evidence that anyone at the store did anything wrong. Instead, it looks like the councilman is simply trying to grandstand for more gun control laws.

Benson requested that the council’s policy staff draft a resolution urging the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) to look into the sales history at Action Impact Firearms and Training Center in the wake of the July 6 shooting death of Detroit officer Loren Courts.
The resolution, if approved, would ask ATF’s Detroit office to review the gun shop’s “federal firearms license for potential revocation, as a direct result of this sale.”
“In addition, Council implores the ATF to review all of the gun sales at Action Impact Firearms and Training Center for additional gun crimes, to determine how many illegal transactions can be traced back to this dealer,” the resolution from the council’s Legislative Policy Division reads.
The full council on Tuesday is expected to vote on whether to send the draft to a subcommittee for review. The gun-related measure is the latest from Benson who also has been urging state lawmakers to repeal laws that preempt cities and municipalities from regulating firearms within their jurisdictions.
“We have to have some level of control and the ability to regulate weapons sales within our own communities,” Benson told BridgeDetroit, “or you’ll see what happened (to Officer Courts).”
The councilman noted he’s also called for federal lawmakers to reinstate the federal assault weapons ban, which was signed into law in 1994 before expiring in 2004.

The murder of Officer Counts is a terrible tragedy, but it’s utterly disgusting for Benson to try to use it to push for additional gun control legislation, particularly when he’s offering up vague “solutions” about imposing municipal ordinances that are more restrictive than state law. Sadly, this is straight out of the gun control lobby’s playbook. Exploiting tragedy is par for the course for anti-gun politicians, and Benson won’t be the last to do so. Whether or not his colleagues on the Detroit City Council are just as eager to turn the murder of Officer Loren Counts into an opportunity to preen for the cameras and offer up meaningless soundbite solutions remains to be seen, but I’m not holding my breath that they’ll do the right thing and reject Benson’s politically motivated resolution.

Detroit firearms instructor bringing 2A teaching to the masses

July 12, 2022 by Cam Edwards Leave a Comment

I’m really glad that Rick Ector of Rick’s Firearm Academy and Legally Armed in Detroit could join me on today’s Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co today, and not just because it gives me a little break from playing armchair attorney and going over one of the many unconstitutional gun laws put in place in blue states since the Bruen decision was handed down a couple of weeks ago. Rick is one of my favorite people, and I’m happy to help spread the word about a fantastic event he’s putting together at the end of this month.

This will be the eleventh consecutive year that Rick and a wonderful team of volunteer instructors will give hundreds of new and would-be gun owners some hands on instruction, and this year’s event, scheduled to take place in Taylor, Michigan on July 30th and 31st promises to be an invaluable introduction to safe and responsible gun ownership aimed specifically at women.

Over the past decade more than 7,000 women have taken part in the event, and Ector is hoping to see at least 1,000 more this year. In order to facilitate this kind of crowd, Ector will be working with two ranges in Taylor (not far from the Detroit city limits) and the aforementioned team of volunteer instructors to ensure that any woman who wants to learn the basics of personal protection can do so, free of charge.

If this year is anything like it’s been in the past, Rick and his friends are going to be awfully busy.

Valerie Rupert raised her right arm, slightly shaking and unsure as she aimed at the paper target representing a burglar, a robber or even a rapist.
The 67-year-old Detroit grandmother squeezed the trigger, the echo of her shot blending into the chorus of other blasts by other women off the small gun range walls.
“I was a little nervous, but after I shot a couple of times, I enjoyed it,” said Rupert, among 1,000 or so mostly Black women taking part in free weekend gun safety and shooting lessons at two Detroit-area ranges.
… For many Black women, it’s about taking care of themselves, said Lavette Adams, a licensed firearm instructor who participated in the free Detroit-area training sponsored by gun advocacy group Legally Armed In Detroit.
“Crime against women is nothing new. Women protecting themselves, that’s new,” said Adams, who is Black.
That’s the premise behind the training that launched 10 years ago with 50 women attending. Last year, more than 1,900 participated, according to Rick Ector, Legally Armed in Detroit’s founder, who says he started it “to bring awareness and training to women who are the favorite preferred targets of bad guys, rapists and killers.”

Honestly, the only complaint I have about Ector’s event is that it’s happening the weekend my wife and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary, and I don’t think she’d be thrilled with a surprise trip to Detroit, so I’m not going to be able to make it up there in person. I’ve already told Rick that next year I’m blocking off my calendar so I can finally get a first-hand look at this outstanding effort that’s brought thousands of people together in pursuit of their personal safety.

Those hoping to participate this year can sign up starting July 23rd on Rick’s social media (generally @DetroitCCW) including his Facebook page.

Be sure to heck out the entire conversation with Rick in the video window above, which also includes his personal observations about the lengthy wait times for concealed carry applicants in Wayne County; an issue that was supposed to be resolved with the settlement of a lawsuit against the county clerk. According to Rick the problems are continuing, and we’ll have more on that in the days ahead.

One more note: Rick didn’t say anything about this to me before, during, or after our interview, but I stumbled across a new GoFundMe that he’s set up to help defray the cost of putting on this event. I know times are tight right now, but if you can, I’d encourage you to kick in a few bucks for a very good cause.

Detroit drive-by shooting a case study in not enforcing existing laws

July 6, 2022 by Cam Edwards Leave a Comment

You’ve probably never heard of Teddy Valentino Davis until now, but his ongoing criminal cases are a stunning example of both the failures in our criminal justice system and the need to better enforce our existing laws instead of passing new restrictions aimed at legal gun owners.

Davis was originally arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a license in Detroit, and the judge assigned to his case ordered that Davis wear a GPS monitoring device as a condition of his bond. There’s nothing unusual about that, but what’s raising eyebrows, particularly among local police, is what happened after prosecutors repeatedly told the judge that Davis was violating the terms of his bond, including allegedly taking part in a drive-by shooting.

Davis’ prior alleged tether infractions included a Jan. 18 arrest by Detroit police officials, who say he was carrying a gun that matched 20 shell casings recovered from a drive-by shooting nine days earlier. The GPS unit on Davis’ ankle device tracked him to the crime scene and other shootings, police said.
Davis was charged with the drive-by shooting Jan. 22 and given a personal bond and a tether. But in April, police say he again violated his tether agreement when investigators tracked his device’s GPS to a vacant northwest Detroit house.
Davis and another man were allegedly holed up in the house with multiple firearms. Davis was arrested and scheduled for the May bond violation hearing before [Judge Michael] Hathaway.

So, by the time Davis appeared before the judge in late May, he’d already had five alleged bond violations and two arrests for separate incidents, including the drive-by shooting. The judge could have ordered Davis’ bond revoked and remanded him into custody until his trial, but instead Hathaway took a much different approach: continuing his bond but ordering the removal of the GPS monitoring device that had alerted authorities to his alleged lawbreaking.

As you might have guessed, that didn’t stop Davis’ alleged criminal activity. About a month later police, who were now paying attention to Davis’ social media feeds, watched on Instagram as Davis held a gun and allegedly threatened violence against other individuals.

Davis was arrested June 23 in a Roseville hotel, allegedly with a pistol in his waistband. He is in the Wayne County Jail after Wayne Circuit Judge Miriam Bazzi set bond at $1 million cash during an emergency hearing Friday on the initial concealed weapon charge. In the shooting case, a bond violation hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday in Hathaway’s courtroom.
Detroit police officials are furious over Hathaway’s decision to remove Davis’ tether and continue the personal bond, which they say is an example of increased judicial leniency toward allegedly violent offenders.
“Regrettably, low bonds have become the norm in our courts,” Detroit police Chief James White said in a statement. “This is an affront to this city’s community as well as the members of this department that put their lives on the line every day.”

The low bonds are an issue, but they’re not the only problem. The fact that Davis was arrested twice on gun-related charges (including a violent felony offense) and the judge decided the best course of action was to remove his GPS monitoring entirely can’t be blamed on staffing woes or other shortfalls in the local court system. In Wayne County, however, those in charge are pointing fingers rather than accepting responsibility.

But the chief judge of Detroit’s 36th District Court said a hole in the system during prior district court bond hearings may be responsible for the issue. Nobody from police or the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office showed up to argue about the bond amounts in those proceedings, he said.
“That’s where the process has a hole in it,” Chief 36th District Judge William McConico said. “There’s no (assistant prosecutor) at felony arraignments anymore. About five years back, they used to send people to arraignments from Pre-Trial Services, who would give the judges and magistrates information.”
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy declined to comment specifically about Davis’ case because it’s still being adjudicated but said she’s “disturbed” by some judges’ recent bond decisions.
“I understand that the pandemic has changed the criminal justice system,” Worthy said in a statement. “In certain non-assaultive cases, there are going to be lower bonds and more personal recognizance bonds.”
“Generally speaking, when there are clear indicators that the person is a danger to others, is charged with another more serious case while on bond, is intimidating witnesses, or is a flight risk, there must be a thoughtfully considered bond that takes these factors into consideration,” Worthy said.
“In certain cases, I have been disturbed when these factors exist and a personal or a very low bond is given,” Worthy said.

Disturbed enough to raise hell about it? Doesn’t sound like it to me.

The sad truth is that while Davis’ case may be particularly egregious, it’s also not that far outside the norm. And while anti-gun politicians are demanding more laws aimed at turning legal gun owners into criminals on paper, they’re awfully quiet about the lackadaisical attitude taken by many judges and prosecutors when it comes to those charged with crimes of actual violence, even when it results in kangaroo court decisions like removing the GPS monitoring of a man accused of taking part in a drive-by shooting while out on bond.