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A
SSOCIATED
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EWSPAPERS OF
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ICHIGAN
P
AGE
4
April 5, 2012
B
ELLEVILLE
- R
OMULUS
Police arrest 5 suspects in armed robbery
Five suspects have been taken
into custody in the armed robbery
and home invasion reported
March 22 at the Wagon Wheel
Southmobile home park.
According to a press release
issued by Van Buren Township
Police Capt. Greg Laurain, the
men were arrested March 24 in
connection with the break-in
reported at 11:11 p.m. two days
earlier by the resident. He told
police that four men kicked in his
front door and held two residents
at gunpoint while rummaging
through themobile home.
The victims told police that the
suspects took a television and
other small electronic equipment.
The men were described as wear-
ing Halloween masks to disguise
their appearance.
According to police, a security
guard reported seeing a red
Chevrolet Impala driving through
the mobile home park occupied
by four or five men prior to the
time the robbery was reported.
Security guards made contact
with the vehicle near the park
clubhouse but the driver was the
only occupant at that time. He
allegedly told the security guard
that he was in the mobile home
park to visit a friend.
The security guard recorded
the license plate number of the
vehicle which was broadcast to
police departments throughout
the area after the crime was
reported.
Canton Police officers located
and stopped the car on Belleville
Road, just south of Michigan
Avenue at about 11:58 p.m. March
22 and the driver was entrusted to
the custody of the Van Buren
TownshipPolice for questioning.
The driver implicated four
other suspects during interviews
with Van Buren Township detec-
tives and those suspects were
arrested during the weekend.
Four of the five are reportedly 17-
year-old Van Buren Township res-
idents.
Police said that the victims
were specifically targeted by the
suspects. All the property
removed from the mobile home
and the firearms used in the inci-
dent were seized by officers from
Van Buren Township acting on
searchwarrants.
Arrested were Brandon Fair,
Benjamin Scribble-Elmore,
Joseph Marsh and Jaleel Booker
who are each charged with two
counts of armed robbery which
carries a penalty of any termup to
life, home invasion, which carries
a 20-year prison term and posses-
sion of marijuana, a 1-year
offense. Fair and Marsh also face
felony firearms charges which
carry a two-year prison term, if
convicted.
During their arraignment at the
34thDistrict Court, eachwas given
a $500,000 or 10 percent bond.
Goddard Road to be resurfaced
Downtown Romulus will soon be getting
the road it deserves, but there may be a few
bumps and jolts along theway.
Goddard Road from the 'Five Points'
intersection toRomaine Street will be resur-
faced this year, a three-month project that
will reduce one of the main arteries to
downtown to one lane.
Tom Wilson, the director of the Romulus
Department of Public Works, said the road
will only be open to motorists traveling from
downtown toFivePoints.
“It'll only be in one direction,” he said. “If
you want to get to the downtown, there will
be detours set up.”
The project is the first of three phases to
reconstruct the roadway, Wilson said. The
total estimated cost is just over $1 million,
but the bulk of that will be paid by the feder-
al government. The local match is only
$186,000 and will be provided by the
Romulus Downtown Development
Authority.
Wilson said more work is needed on
other roads leading to the Five Points inter-
section, but he thought it wise to divvy the
project up into smaller pieces.
“There's no guarantee of federal fund-
ing,” he said. “We'd love to do it all at once
but it would be a $3 million, $3.5 million
project-and we don't have the funding for
that.”
The reason the project is so expensive is
that the concrete must be removed and
replacedwithasphalt, according toWilson.
“It's not a candidate for an overlay,” he
said. “When you do an overlay, you need a
goodbase.”
Council president LeroyBurcroff agreed.
“It'd be a bad idea to go over it,” he said.
“It's ahorrible road.”
Councilman JohnBarden said the project
would make for a difficult construction sea-
son, but said it is definitely needed.
“We've been getting a lot of complaints
about Goddard Road,” he said. “I'm glad
we're getting it done.”
All businesses will remain open during
the construction, which will start sometime
after April. Residents will have access to
their property, too. Wilson said business
owners would also get copies of detour
maps, and plenty of advance notice before
thework starts.
“Hopefully it'll be a lot less intrusive this
time around,”Wilson said.
Good Friday Walk is OK’d
An annual event on Friday may give
people a chance to have a different per-
spective of theEaster holiday.
The City of Romulus will host a Good
Friday Walk beginning at 11:30 a.m. at
the Romulus Historical Park. The event
is sponsored by the Romulus
Ministerial Alliance, according to Pastor
Art Willis of the Pentecostal Missionary
Baptist Church.
“We come together as a coalition of
all people,” said Willis, who has helmed
the church since 1991.
“That's what so blessed about
Romulus and so blessed about our
event; there is no one person in charge.
It's a group of people coming together, a
group of churches, a group of clergy:
Catholics, Methodists, Protestants,
Baptists, un-denomination, you name it.
We're coming together with one pur-
pose, and that's to share with people
what happened-as a Christian-to our
Savior onGoodFriday.”
Walkers will travel down Goddard
Road to the Romulus Wesleyan Church,
where there will be a short service.
Willis said the walk shouldn't take
longer than about 30minutes.
“It's a great time to get out and get
your exercise in,” he said.
This year, Willis is looking for volun-
teers who want to carry the cross on
part of the journey, he said. Usually the
clergy takes on that role, although
Romulus Mayor Alan Lambert has done
it in the past.
“Anyone that wants to carry it can,
just to get a feeling of what it's like, in
your mind, of what Jesus went through
at that time,”Willis said.
After the 30 minute service, partici-
pants will all share in the community
together,Willis said.
Those that don't think they can walk
the entire route are welcome to drive
alongside the marchers, Willis said.
They can also just attend the church
service.
The streets will be closed for the pro-
cession; the city council approved that
requestMonday night.