Rapper Reinforces His Rap Sheet

And his rap sheet goes back as far as 2001.

One might say that Detroit Rapper Brian Brown has methed up.

The Detroit News: Detroit rap mogul Brian Brown gets in fresh trouble with feds

A Detroit music mogul, once described in a sealed federal search warrant as one of the largest heroin dealers in the Midwest who used his rap label to launder drug money, is in fresh trouble along with his wife after being accused of heading a nationwide drug ring linked to Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel. 

Right after being celebrated for turning his life around, post-incarceration (for apparently a far too-short sentence that did not, in fact, cause him to reform) too: One West: Reformed Detroit Drug Kingpin-Turned-Grammy-Nominated Music Mogul Releases Documentary, Detailing His Unconventional Life Of Crime And Transformation Into The World Of Entertainment 

Who knows, maybe his turning point was going from heroin to meth? 

It's the National Institutes of Health, Not the National Institutes of Hijinks

Hijinks, in this case, of a very serious pathogenic nature.

The Detroit News: Feds: 2 researchers brought vials of monkeypox to DTW

The Detroit Free Press: Feds: 2 researchers smuggled monkeypox through Detroit airport 

Two researchers with the National Institutes of Health have been charged with smuggling monkeypox into the United States and lying about it — an alleged crime that was detected at Detroit Metro Airport.

According to a criminal complaint unsealed on Tuesday, June 2 in U.S. District Court, one of the defendants is from the Netherlands, the other from Cameroon. Both are virus experts who work for the NIH at the Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Montana, in a lab that, according to the government, has the highest level of biosafety precautions for scientific research of known and potential human pathogens. 

The "highest level of biosafety precautions".

Well, according to federal prosecutors, they allegedly bypassed proper procedures for transporting and importing dangerous pathogens, instead bringing the materials into the country in luggage and then lying about it.

Given their scientific expertise and workplace responsibilities, the allegations are especially striking.

This is the latest in a series of biological-material smuggling incidents uncovered at the Detroit Airport.

Midwesterner: UM faces federal investigation after students from China repeatedly busted for crimes in Michigan

 USDOJ: Three Chinese National Scholars from University of Michigan Laboratory Charged for Conspiring to Smuggle Biological Materials into the U.S. 

NIH Scientists acting like Mad Scientists is just not a good look. 

Compare And Contrast The Response To "Teen Takeovers"

CBS News: Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield says city will address downtown teen takeovers:

 After several incidents in which large groups of teenagers took over  downtown Detroit, city leaders say they are developing a plan to address it.     

. . . 

While there is some perception that Detroit officials and the Detroit Police Department have been somewhat silent on the issue of these downtown takeovers, since these events began, Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield says a lot is happening behind the scenes to ensure that these takeovers don't get out of control. 

"It's a comprehensive, interdepartmental, all-hands-on-deck approach to assure that we're addressing the needs of our young people," Sheffield said. 

In a one-on-one interview with CBS News Detroit on Wednesday at DPD headquarters, Sheffield says the social media trend is top-of-mind with city officials, police and community intervention groups. Sheffield says the city is taking a holistic approach to addressing the issue and believes it's also an opportunity to serve the youth. 

"We didn't experience what other cities did as far as safety," Sheffield said. "Kids came out; they wanted to hang out; they wanted a place for something to do. So we're trying to make sure that we're addressing that need of making sure that young people have a safe space to be occupied and engaged throughout the upcoming summer months." 

The response from the teens in addition to continued takeovers, some fights and a shooting clearly has taken this strong and unambiguous message to heart: 

Deandrae Morgan said he plans to continue organizing Detroit "teen takeovers," despite Detroit police officers asking him last week to remove social media posts calling for young people to congregate downtown during a weekend that saw one peaceful gathering and another marred by a nonfatal shooting and brawls involving hundreds of combatants. 

Compare Detroit's wishy-washy response to that of Mayor of Pontiac and Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard when a  Teen Takeover was threatened for Pontiac: 

ClickonDetroit: Teen takeover gatherings spread to Pontiac, prompting safety warnings following Detroit chaos 

Similar unpermitted gatherings are now being advertised on social media in Pontiac.

Mayor Mike McGuinness said Pontiac officials and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office moved quickly after seeing one such event promoted online Friday.

“If folks are looking to get crazy or act up, Pontiac, Michigan, ain’t the place,” McGuinness said.

McGuinness said deputies were stationed “at every major intersection in downtown Pontiac” as a precaution this past Friday. 

Result:  No teen takeover and no mass teen violence in Pontiac. 

Funny how enforcing the law and not putting up with disorder and crime works.

The "Teens" Of Summer

Summer is here, and the media,  obfuscating as usual,  describes the latest round of disorderly issues in Blue State Cities to be created by"Teens" just happening to be out and about:

The New York Post: ‘Teen takeover’ descends into wild brawl inside DC Chipotle — as feds promise to charge ignorant parents 

The Detroit News: Teen takeover in Detroit results in brawls, shooting. Sheffield responds

The choice of words by the media is typical in that it is technically accurate yet does not nearly accurately describe the perpetrators of the disorder. These deliberate word choices are interesting as an apt demonstration in how the media chooses to obfuscate the facts. 

Apparently, Detroit Mayor Sheffield's response to the "teen takeover" is to re-establish midnight basketball and other activities to give the "Teens" something to do other than blocking the streets, starting brawls, and assaulting people - instead of severely cracking down on the behavior and heavily prosecuting the miscreants to deter such behavior.  That should work just swimmingly.  

No, Don't Do That

Stupid decisions by stupid people often lead to completely avoidable tragedies.

WXYZ Detroit: Detroit mother charged for unsafe storage of weapon after six-year-old killed in accidental shooting

Detroit mom decided to go to a restaurant and left her five, yes five, children ages 2 through 11 years old in her car, along with a firearm that was simply shoved under her seat and into the restaurant she went.

Left to themselves, the 11-year-old then retrieved the firearm and shot and killed the 6-year-old. 

Do not leave an unsecured firearm, shoved under the front seat, which is not a good idea even if alone, and especially not where kids can get it.

The mom should have had the firearm on her person, or at the very least taken all her kids into the restaurant with her and not left them alone in the vehicle.

But, she likely couldn't take the firearm in to the restaurant with her, as while the reporting is confused, it appears she was a felon in possession at the time, as she's been charged with 4 counts of felony firearm as in addition to the gun left in the car, other firearms were also found at her house. 

Tonya Charisse-Annie Johnson, 41, has been charged with:

• Firearms — Safe Storage Violations — Premises Under Individual's Control — Minor Present and Inflicted Death upon Self or Another
• Three counts of Second-Degree Child Abuse
• Four counts of Felony Firearm

In short, be responsible and do not leave your firearms where they are readily accessible to unsupervised children.

Detroit Police Chief To Police: If You Don't Ignore Crime, You'll Be Fired

Traffic stops often catch criminals goign about their criminal business

For most people, traffic stops that help prevent crime and catch criminals is a good thing. 

In these two cases, it caught illegal immigrants, one with a felony warrant who apparently did not (or decided not) to speak English.

The officers contacted border patrol to communicate with them and indeed detain them as illegals. 

For this the Detroit police chef is going to fire them. 

The Detroit News: Detroit police chief plans to fire officers who used border agents at traffic stops

This won't make Detroit safer, indeed it will result in the opposite, but it will make the progressives feel good about themselves.

What other ongoing law violations, pray tell, are supposed to be ignored by police officers in Detroit?

The Latest Media Euphemism

Generally, when the media fails to tell you the race or show you the face of the perpetrator of a  crime in the Detroit Metro area, you can generally guess, and guess correctly due to that failure.

The latest media euphemism to distract attention: "Suburban Men": 

The Detroit News: Suburban men, two ex-postal workers plead in $63 million stolen check scheme

Suburban men makes you think of Hank Hill from King of the Hill, amirite?

In this case it's "Suburban Men" going by the handles of:  DaQuan Foreman, 32, of Eastpointe and Jaiswan Williams, 32, of Rochester Hills.

Technically true that they are from the suburbs, but that's hardly the salient or newsworthy feature here. 

Their more urban confederates in crime are Crystal Jenkins and Vanessa Hargrove - both employees of the Post Office who stole the checks from the mail - Sixty-three million dollars worth of them.

After stealing the checks they gave them to suburbanite confederates in crime DaQuan and Jaiswan to sell off on the black -- oh, sorry -- suburban -- market.

Not Nearly Enough Time For The Crime

Yet again, soft-on-crime judges are not punishing bad behavior sufficiently.

What do you get for phoning in two bomb threats to a school? All of 11 days in jail and probation, and an impulse control class.

 The Detroit News:  Detroit woman sentenced for phoning in fake bomb threats to Lake Shore High School

 A Detroit woman was sentenced to a short jail stint followed by probation for phoning in two fake bomb threats to Lake Shore High School because her daughter was not allowed to participate in a school play, prosecutors said Thursday.

Phoning in a bomb threat is uncivilized and unacceptable behavior. 

So much so you can be jailed up to 4 years for doing so. 

If you want to discourage behavior like this you need to crack down on it and make the punishment be a deterrent both to the moron that phoned it in and to others contemplating doing the same thing.

Just 11 days in jail and probation for two felonies with a maximum time of 4 years in jail after disrupting 700 students and parents is almost a joke rather than a deterrent.  She got off far too lightly.

Nothing Says That's Detroit For Ya

Like having felons  . . .  on their Police Commission. 

The Detroit News:  Convicted felons on Detroit police board work on legal issues as video emerges

Yep not just one felon on the Detroit Police Commission but multiple. 

Note one of the felons, who has since resigned when it came to light he had outstanding charges for being a felon in possession of a firearm and had threatened a police officer had been placed on the commission. 

Interesting how the Democrats keep saying they are against gun-related crimes and gun ownership in general, but keep placing criminals who have used guns in crime or committed other felonies in positions of authority. 

Funny, that.

Same Players, Different Protest

Michigan has quite the crop of professional and enthusiastic amateur left-wing protesters.

So much so, the Detroit Free Press unironically juxtaposed this headline with the accompanying picture: 

Apparently this batch of protestors didn't have time to switch from Venezuelan that they had just got to anti-ICE flags.

It is rather hard for them to keep up with the cause du jour, after all. 

Well Progressives, I Guess That's One Way To Get Crime Stats Down

Not by doing anything to actually stop crime mind you.  

Instead the progressive solution is to have police ignore crimes.

The Detroit Free Press: Could Detroit end minor traffic stops? Michigan cities offer road map

Detroit police oversight board members hoping to limit minor traffic stops after a series of police shootings that started with issues including alleged license plate and tinted window violations can look to the experiences of at least three Michigan jurisdictions that have restricted such stops in recent years.

“Driving equality”-style ordinances and policies in Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor and East Lansing have aimed to prevent racial profiling and reduce citizen contacts with police. . .

Yep, if you ignore low-level crimes, and don't pursue them, you let the more major criminals continue their actions uninterrupted, then you will get less interactions where criminals are caught by police.  

You will also get more serious crimes committed by these criminals as a result as they weren't stopped and then caught for lesser offenses on their way to commit more serious crimes.

People aren't being shot by police for license plate and tinted window violations nor for failing to have their cars registered and up to date.

They are getting shot when, after being pulled over, they're found to have more serious warrants, or are driving drunk, or otherwise committing illegal acts and THEN THEY FORCEFULLY RESIST ARREST.

If you want less people getting shot while committing crimes, great or small, maybe teach them to stop resisting arrest. 

But, that would imply personal responsibility (and lack thereof) is the cause of the issue, and not the systemic racism nonsense the progressives are spouting. 

In The Running For Detroit Mother Of The Year Award

The Detroit Free Press: Detroit student stabbed by classmate whose mother snuck a knife into school, officials say.

A student was stabbed by a classmate during school Wednesday at Gompers Elementary-Middle School, according to officials.

The stabbing occurred after the child’s mother reportedly gave her child a “small knife,” said a statement from the Detroit Public Schools Community District.

 How did the eighth grader get the knife in past the metal detectors?  Mom.

The mother entered the school through a metal detector that went off, the district said. The school’s security guard did not search the mother, according to DPSCD.

Bit of a security lapse there, and the guard was suspended for that breach in security.

Meanwhile, mom and child were arrested for the stabbing. 

Apparently, "Police Should Ignore ARMED Criminals" Is A Real Leftist Take

Yep, apparently in order to stop Black criminals from being shot, which makes progressives sad, there's a serious advocacy effort that police should not stop people who appear to be illegally armed in Detroit.

The Detroit Free Press: Stopped for a curfew violation, shot by police: When nonviolent stops spiral in Detroit

Yes, they're serious about this:

Futterman, the Chicago professor, questioned whether officers should chase for suspected guns, particularly when they do not see one. He helped that city craft one of the nation’s most restrictive foot chase policies after back-to-back March 2021 fatal police shootings involving foot pursuits over minor issues. 

How's crime been doing in Chicago since those policies ignoring crime and restricting chasing criminals have been implemented?  Oh, not so good.

Let's examine some of these chases described on the article: 

Detroit police were drawn to Walter Peete by his hand in his pocket.

The 29-year-old was leaving the corner store in February 2018 after picking up a deck of cards to entertain two young cousins who’d grown bored playing Uno. For the short walk, Peete had taken an unloaded gun he was not legally allowed to have. He’d later say it was because the neighborhood was dangerous — someone had once pulled a gun on him there and his sister had been robbed. 

Describing Peete’s hidden hand as gripped in a way that suggested he had an illegal gun, special operations officers driving by approached him. When Peete ran, they gave chase. 

The pursuit ended with an officer shooting Peete 13 times, leaving him laying bloody in his driveway with three generations of family in the house.

Well, the article fails to mention why poor little Peete (who ain't little per the pictures) can't legally have a firearm. Maybe, just maybe, it was because he was on parole for a felony conviction for drugs. I thought we wanted to keep guns out of the hands of criminals?

The article goes on:

Why chase Rayshawn Walden? 

Well, if you have to ask that question as a reporter when the following facts are in the very same article immediately following the question posed, I daresay you're a special kind of stupid:

It was a split-second decision made by a DPD officer who saw him standing at a gas station in the summer of 2020. Officer Bailey Rumschlag said his pursuit was touched off by a bulge on Walden’s hip indicating he had a weapon. As they ran, Rumschlag said Walden began turning on him with the gun in hand, prompting the officer to shoot. 

Yep, when after fleeing from police, you then turn towards a police officer with a gun in your hand, getting shot is highly likely.

Let's sum up the article -  Police are looking for criminals illegally carrying guns. If you're illegally carrying a gun,  making sudden moves with the illegal gun while being stopped by a police officer leads to you likely being shot.  The pro-criminal element in Detroit and elsewhere is upset by this.

Again, if you want to truly save Black Lives, teach Black criminals not to resist arrest, including that vital bit of information that apparently everyone  else but them already knows:

 If you pull a gun or you point a gun at a police officer while resisting arrest you are probably going to get shot. 

So much for the Left being all about getting "guns off the street". 

Such A Good Thing That You Can't Legally Carry In A Hospital In Michigan

Because such prohibition clearly stops people intent on murder from carrying a firearm in there.

Or really not. 

WXYZ Detroit:  Suspect in deadly Henry Ford Hospital shooting now in custody, police say

The Detroit News: Police: Suspect in fatal shooting at Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital in custody

Yep, that prohibition worked so well that the SOB who is the focus of the story was able to waltz right into the hospital, make his way to the basement of the hospital, shoot and kill his ex-wife who worked there, and waltz on out without being intercepted and then drove away not being caught (or possibly he turned himself in - reports differ) until 12 hours after the fact

So, the ex-wife, who had twice applied for PPOs against him after he committed various hostile acts including running her off the road (first application denied, second one granted but not served) was not allowed to be armed.  It would have been illegal for her to carry at the hospital, even as she had an extremely violent ex who had demonstrated time and again that he was a major and quite dangerous threat to her.

We will note that PPO in this case sadly, yet again, stands for Paper, Piece Of.

PPOs are a useful step to document a threat against you and get the police to hopefully take the situation more seriously.  They may even cause some Mope who doesn't get that No means No to leave you alone. Then again, they may not. Against someone clearly bent on harming you, they are of extremely limited effectiveness, as is a no-carry zone. 

The prohibition on carrying in a hospital disarmed the victim only in this case, the SOB simply ignored it, along with a host of other applicable laws.

The SOB in question was also a convicted felon with previous convictions for both arson and aggravated stalking and various probation violations. 

So legally he was: 1. Not allowed to even possess the firearm that he used to kill his ex-wife; 2. Not allowed to enter the hospital with it; and, of course, 3.  Not allowed to kill her with it.

On top of that, given the impressive lack of security at the hospital, the SOB did not even need a firearm to murder his ex.  

No, That Sounds Like A Robbery Attempt Gone Sorta Good

The Detroit News: 15-year-old fatally shot in apparent robbery attempt, Detroit police say

Described as a "robbery gone bad" in the article,  a 15-year-old and an accomplice attempted to rob a man at around 11pm in Detroit .

This didn't work out well, as the male victim of the robbery attempt had a CPL (Concealed Pistol License), was carrying,  and shot the robber, who died 4 blocks away.

Expect reports soon on how the 15-year-old was a "good boy" and "was never in no trouble" as we as how he was imminently "turning his life around" any minute now.

Surprise! Criminals And Their Families Lie.

I mean, who knew that criminals and their families might be less than forthcoming with the truth about an incident?

In this particular scenario, the criminal in question, Rakim Wright, did it wrong.

Fleeing from police after a domestic violence call and  shooting at them while doing so, then shooting himself before he could be arrested, resulting in Rakim assuming room temperature and leaving one less violent domestic abuser in the world.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to whip up a "hands up don't shoot" false narrative, and a shot at winning the ghetto lottery, witnesses and family claimed that "Wright was unarmed and shot by the officers".

 The police video of the incident shows otherwise: 

Fox 2 Detroit:  Video shows Warren domestic violence suspect fatally shooting self after firing at police during chase

 Yes criminals lie, their family lies, and witnesses lie. 

We will note this was not Wright's first time of doing things wrong, but it was his last:

Wright also had previous arrests for assault with a dangerous weapon, malicious destruction of property, and felony weapons charges.  

"Stop! Don't Touch!" Is Good Advice For Children - And Some Adults Too

You can't make this kind of stupidity up.

So, a fellow with apparently no safe experience handling firearms picked one up that he found, then almost undoubtedly pulled the trigger, all while pointing it in an unsafe direction.

What could possibly go wrong?  Oh, yeah, that:

The Detroit News: Employee accidentally shoots self, two customers at Eastern Market: Police

An employee at a restaurant in the Eastern Market area mishandled a firearm Wednesday afternoon, injuring himself and two customers with a single shot, Detroit police said.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, Detroit Police Assistant Chief Charles Fitzgerald called the incident one of the "craziest, silliest things I've seen in quite some time" and added that the employee had "absolutely no business handling a gun."

Just before 1 p.m. a 52-year-old employee inside a restaurant in the 2900 block of Russell was handling a gun which, he told police, he had found in an upstairs area at the business.

He managed to shoot himself in the hand, and  managed to hit two customers, one in the forearm, and one in the wrist with the same shot. The idiot has a better hit percentage than the NYPD.  

The Eddie Eagle Program would have been a good start for this fellow. Then again any adult should have had the basic sense to not even mess around with something he had no idea how to handle.  

Stupid Criminals: Tailgating Cops While Under A Deportation Order Is No Way To Go Through Life Son

If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough. 

The Detroit Free Press: Border Patrol arrested a Detroit student on a field trip. He now faces deportation.

 So, an illegal in high school at age 18 was driving with three minors in the car and was tailgating a police car.  Not the smartest move, really.

Note the semantics in the article - the illegal is referred to as an "18-year-old Detroit man"  or "Detorit student" rather than as an "18-year-old illegal alien from Colombia" and is referred to only as an "immigrant from Colombia". This follows the linguistic games like that of the Maryland man of MS-13 fame.

So the 18-year-old illegal then gets pulled over, has no driver's license, and then plays the "no speak English" game. 

The police call the nearest Spanish-speaking officer to come by and support the stop, who just so happens to be CBP, and they find in no short order that the driver is not just driving illegally, but is in the country illegally. 

Apparently as noted in the article some are upset because this is, to them, considered "profiling".

To them, an illegal using tax resources by going to high school here, driving on our roads without even bothering to get a license, which is a misdemeanor in this state, and playing the fool by tailgating cops, is just fine and dandy. 

This is not profiling, the fellow was pulled over for a stupid traffic violation and his stupidity then caused things to escalate. 

Again, he was found to be driving without a license.  He then failed to speak English so the locals called the closest law enforcement officers available who could speak Spanish, who, most fortuitously, happened to be CBP, and lo and behold, the fellow is indeed an illegal, driving illegally.

Oh, and funnily enough he had already been ordered deported and was still remaining in the country illegally, and driving illegally to boot. 

It is most likely the people that are angry that someone who is in this country illegally and driving illegally, while already having an order for deportation are likely the same people who were shouting "No one is above the law" just a few short months ago. No one is above the law - in their view except for illegal aliens.  Apparently, they can become a "Detroit man" but remain exempt from following the law or consequences for doing so, unlike actual Detroit men. 

When You Impeach President Trump And Still Lose The Support Of The Progressive Left

Congressman Shri Thanedar's performative impeachment action of President Trump, intended to shore up the progressive wing of support in his Democrat-lock district has failed, bigly.

The Detroit Free Press: Rep. Rashida Tlaib endorses Donavan McKinney in Democratic race against Shri Thanedar

There are two strikes against Thannedar:

1.  He's not pro-terrorist so he lost the "progressive" Islamist and Arab vote; and

2.  He's not Black.  Yes, Democrats are all about race. He's in a solidly Democrat Black district, and the Black Democrat powers-that-be want a Black representative.

Congressman Thanedar needs a T-shirt that reads: 

 "I filed impeachment articles against Trump, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt."

Shri Thanedar Moves Farther Left To Protect His Flank

Facing a challenge in Detroit due to his not being Black enough,  and for not being crazy progressive enough, Shri Thanedar decides to dabble in leftist performative irrelevance.

Congressman Shri Thanedar Introduces Articles of Impeachment Against President Donald J. Trump for High Crimes and Misdemeanors

The announcement about the impeachment has all the right proggy buzzwords, like tyrannical overreach" even though it doesn't actually identify any real impeachable offenses, basically it is "Orange Man Bad".

Shri is facing at least two primary challengers, both from the farther left end of the spectrum:

From the more left:

The Detroit News:  Adam Hollier running for Congress again, aiming to defeat Shri Thanedar

Hollier is basically running as a challenger yet again on the "Thanedar is not Black and I am so you Black Detroiters should vote for me" angle, with likely the same results as last time.

But, Thanedar is also facing a challenge from the much farther and less sane left:

 The Detroit News: Detroit lawmaker Donavan McKinney jumps into race to unseat Shri Thanedar in Congress

[Donovan] McKinney, first elected in 2022, starts out with the backing of the progressive group Justice Democrats that helped elect Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of New York and Rashida Tlaib of Detroit, and the endorsements of 14 current and former  state lawmakers, many of them representing parts of Thanedar’s district that covers a swath of Detroit, the Grosse Pointes and Downriver communities.

So Thanedar, after basically acting as a relatively sane Democrat in Congress, loudly announces he is impeaching President Trump in response to this announcement of a progressive challenger.

Because nothing, absolutely nothing, helps establish your far-left bona fides and gets the progressive left vote like tilting at windmills by filing impeachments against President Trump.

Since the 13th District is a complete Democrat lock, the winner of the Democrat primary is the representative in Congress so Shri is just trying to catch some of the loony left vote early and shore up his vulnerabilities in that area with this forlorn hope of an impeachment filing.