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PAGE 6 ASSOCIATED NEWSPAPERS OF MICHIGAN March 4, 2021

WAYNE - WESTLAND
WAYNE - WESTLAND

Former councilman agrees to ‘discuss’ criminal plea

Prosecutors in the criminal case While Sanders has consistently denied ”
against former Wayne City Councilman any involvement in the incident, he said
Christopher Sanders have offered him a he would “discuss” a plea deal. “I'm never I also firmly believe that Mr. Sanders was the ringleader
plea deal in lieu of a jury trial. going to say I'm not open for discussion. behind these horrible acts against the city manager
During a court hearing last Wednesday, I'm never opposed to discussion,” he said.
prosecutors said they would extend an Sanders will have until March 10 when he and he needs to be held accountable for his actions.
official offer of a plea deal this week in the is next scheduled to appear before Third
case which charges Sanders with filing a Circuit Court Judge Donald Knapp to
false report of a felony, conspiracy to com- decide to accept or reject the offer. of a lawsuit Nocerini filed against Sanders sage still has not resonated with Mr.
mit a false report of a felony and attempt- Last week, Knapp refused Sanders' claiming damages in the incident. As he Sanders as he continues to embarrass the
ed false report of a felony. The charges, all motion to dismiss the charges noting that was a city councilman at the time, the city city and community with his unprincipled
felonies, stem from an Oct. 16, 2017 inci- he did not have the jurisdiction to grant is liable for any financial compensation. behavior. I also firmly believe that Mr.
dent when Wayne City Manager Lisa the dismissal due to previous court pro- Following that settlement, to be paid by Sanders was the ringleader behind these
Nocerini claims to have found a starter ceedings in the case. He did advise the city insurance carrier, Mayor John horrible acts against the city manager and
pistol and “fake drugs” planted in her car. Sanders to consider the plea agreement, Rhaesa had strong words for Sanders. he needs to be held accountable for his
She reported finding the items to when offered. He suggested that a plea to “Mr. Sanders has been a stain on the actions. Not to mention that these acts
Wayne police and the investigation was reduced charges could mean probation. city for many, many years. The citizens of occurred on city hall property which is
referred to the Michigan State Police. “It doesn't mean you have to accept any Wayne spoke loud and clear when they disgraceful. Especially when he was an
When Jimmie Lee Chandler, 29, was offer. It just provides you with some oppor- finally voted him out during the 2018 elected public official at the time the
arrested on a separate warrant two years tunities to consider,” Knapp told Sanders. recall election. Unfortunately, that mes- crime was committed,” Rhaesa said.
later, he implicated Sanders, saying he Knapp did caution the former councilman
had been paid to plant the items in the city that should a trial be scheduled, such a
manager's vehicle and then make the false plea could no longer be accepted by the
911 call. court. He also advised Sanders' attorney,
Chandler, 29, of Van Buren Township, John Cahalan, that should a trial be sched-
entered a guilty plea to reduced misde- uled, a motion to dismiss could be consid-
meanor charges and was sentenced to ered during those proceedings.
community service and 18 months proba- Last week, the City of Wayne approved
tion earlier this month. an estimated $25,000 to $50,000 settlement
4,500 call mayor’s office to

schedule virus vaccinations

While all the appointments for State of Michigan, and the CDC regarding
COVID-19 vaccinations in Westland have vaccinations and responses to the
been filled, those who were unsuccessful Coronavirus pandemic, city officials
in scheduling inoculations this week will advised. “That is also the easiest and
be put on the list for the next Wayne most convenient way to sign up for vacci-
County clinic in the city. nation clinic events,” they added.
Officials said more than 4,500
calls were handled in Westland
from those older than 65
attempting to secure an appoint-
ment either Monday or yester-
day at the VistaTech Center at
Schoolcraft College. The calls
for appointments were directed
to the office of Mayor William R.
Wild who praised his staff for
handling the 4,500 calls.
Following registration for a
vaccination, seniors were called
to set an appointment until all
the available slots were filled.
Wayne County personnel
administered the Moderna vac-
cine and those who received the
inoculations will be scheduled
for a second dose on either
March 29 or March 31, officials
said. The city will be maintain-
ing the list even after this vacci-
nation event and will continue
to add names to it as residents
register. As more doses become
available, Westland will sched-
ule additional clinics until the
entire senior population that
chooses to be vaccinated has
been vaccinated, officials said in
a prepared statement.
The event was offered for res-
idents as another option to
receive a vaccine for the
Coronavirus. Residents are still
encouraged to first contact their
healthcare provider directly to
ask them about getting vaccinat-
ed.. Availability through hospital
systems, health care providers
and the Veteran's
Administration is changing
daily, Wayne County officials
said, and residents are encour-
aged to keep trying to secure a
vaccination appointment.
“Our team has been working
closely with Wayne County CEO
Warren Evans who has assured
us that our community will
receive a sufficient supply of the
vaccine, based on availability,”
commented Wild. “We will con-
tinue to keep our residents
updated with new develop-
ments as they occur. This
includes vaccinating other seg-
ments of the population which
will be determined by the
Wayne County Health
Department.”
Visit www.cityofwestland.com
as it has been updated with the
latest and most important infor-
mation from Wayne County, the