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No. 44
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
November 6 – 12, 2014
w w w . a s s o c i a t e d n e w s p a p e r s . n e t
The First Congregational
Church of Wayne will host
the 68th Annual Christmas
Fair, Magical Christmas,
from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. today
and tomorrow.
See page 3.
An automotive manufac-
turer will make a $35 million
investment in Romulus and
get a 12-year tax abatement
tohelpmake it happen.
See page 5.
Plymouth Community
United Way (PCUW) still
needs volunteers to clean
yards and do light chores in
Plymouth and Canton on
Saturday, Nov. 15.
See page 2.
Tipping Point Theater
will present The Rainmaker,
an American classic, at 8
p.m. Thursdays through
Saturdays, Nov. 13 through
Dec. 14.
See page 4.
Members of the Belleville
Area District Library Board
of Directors are preparing a
survey of library users fol-
lowing voters' defeat of mill-
age proposals last August.
See page 5.
Vol. 129, No. 44
Vol. 67, No. 44
Vol. 67, No. 44
Vol. 14, No. 44
Vol. 129, No. 44
Vol. 67, No. 44
Vol. 67, No. 44
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
The boyfriend of a
Westland woman found
strangled in her home faces
a preliminary court hearing
on charges of first degree
murder today at 18thDistrict
Court.
See page 2.
Canton will again honor
area servicemen and ser-
vicewomen in a special
Salute to Service ceremony
Nov. 11 at The Village
Theater.
See page 4
.
Vol. 14, No. 44
The
abandoned
Blanchette Middle School in
Inkster will fall to the wreck-
ing ball and the land sold to
pay debts owed by the for-
mer Inkster School District.
See page 3
.
Psychological examinations
have been ordered by the court
for a 15-year-old girl and 23-year-
oldman accused of conspiring to
murder her family so the two
could run away together and
thwart sexual misconduct
charges filed against him by her
parents earlier this year.
Roksana Sikorski, a ninth-
grade student at Salem High
School, is being charged as an
adult in the conspiracy and
attempted murder case. She is
accused of attacking her 12-year-
old brother with a knife and
attempting to slash his throat
while her boyfriend, Michael
Angelo Rivera, was allegedly
outside her home at about 2 a.m.
Oct. 17, texting her instructions.
The boy's screams awoke the
children's parents and Plymouth
Township police and rescue per-
sonnel were immediately dis-
patched to the family home on
Glenmore Court. The boy was
treated and underwent surgery
for his injuries and is expected
to make a full recovery, accord-
ing to police. Sikorski is also
accused of a failed attempt to
harm her 11-year-old sister dur-
ing the attack.
During the scheduled prelim-
inary hearing on charges before
Judge Michael Gerou at the 35th
District Court last Friday,
Sikorski's family reiterated their
support for her and cited her
previous one-day admission to
Havenwyck Hospital, a chil-
dren's psychiatric hospital in
Auburn Hills, in September of
2013 for Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder. She and her two sib-
lings were adopted fromaPolish
orphanage in early 2005 and her
parents claim she suffered seri-
ous abuse as a young child.
Sikorski's attorney, Leslie
Posner of Southfield, objected to
the psychological examination.
“I found her to be the most
intelligent, competent person
who understands everything
that's going on. She definitely
could assist me with her
defense,” Posner argued.
Gerou was unmoved by her
arguments. He said that Posner's
earlier statement that the girl's
psychological condition may be
part of her defense warranted
the examination. His decision
was supported by Wayne County
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney
MariaMiller. “Based on informa-
tion we have about Ms. Sikorski,
we have decided that the most
prudent way to proceed is to
have the court refer her for a
competency evaluation by the
Forensic Center, she said in a
prepared statement”
Rivera is represented by
Wright W. Blake of Detroit who
requested a psychiatric exami-
nation for his client.
“My client is a 23-year-old
with no further record. He may
be in a 23-year-old body but
mentally he's more like a 15-
year-old. That's why I wanted a
psychiatric exam. They would
like it to appear he was the one
who was manipulating, but it
was the other way around,”
Blake said.
The pair face charges of
assault with intent to murder,
four counts of conspiracy to com-
mit murder and one count of
felonious assault. Sikorsi is also
accused of one count of using a
computer to commit a crime.
Each is being held on $1 million
cash or surety bond.
The ordered mental exami-
nations delayed the preliminary
hearing on the charges which
has been rescheduled for Dec.
12. Both Sikorski and Rivera
remain in custody, she in the
Wayne County Juvenile
Detention Center and he in the
WayneCounty Jail.
Sikorski's parents filed
charges of criminal sexual con-
duct third degree and accosting
a minor for immoral purposes
against Rivera after the couple
ran away together briefly last
summer. Those charges were
dropped Friday “pending fur-
ther investigation” at the request
of Assistant Wayne County
Prosecutor Jennifer Tink.
AWestlandman and aWayne
woman have been charged with
the murder of a 76-year-old
Plymouth Township man in his
home lastmonth.
Wayne County Prosecutor
Kym L. Worthy has charged
Andrew Jeffrey Nutt, 22, of
Westland and Miriah Nichole
Pisarski, 19, of Wayne in connec-
tion with the homicide of
Kenneth Labita, 76, of Plymouth
Township. The defendants have
each been charged with First
Degree Premeditated Murder;
Felony Murder; Larceny of
Firearms and Felony Firearm.
They were arraigned in 35th
District Court in Plymouth last
Friday before Judge Michael
Gerou who denied bond. Both
suspects were remanded to the
Wayne County Jail to await their
next court appearance for a pre-
liminary examination on the
chargesNov. 14.
According to police reports,
officers were called to the home
of Labita, 76, at about 7 p.m. Oct.
27. Neighbors on the 49800 block
of Gilbert Avenue had reported
that Mr. Labita's dog had been
left running loose outside and
his garage door open for at least
two days. When officers arrived
on the scene, they discovered
Mr. Labita deceased in his
home, apparently from a gun-
shot wound to the head.
Plymouth Township officers
contacted the Michigan State
Police Crime Laboratory to
assist in the processing of evi-
dence at the scene.
Following an autopsy, the
Wayne County Medical
See
Death,
page 2
”
They would like it to appear he
was the one who was manipulating,
but it was the other way around.
Competency exams ordered for teen, boyfriend
Pair charged in shooting and robbery at senior citizen’s home
Stepping up
Rotary Club
volunteers help
build shelter
playgrounds
Residents at the First Step
shelter in Wayne were awak-
ened early Saturday morning,
Oct. 25, by the sound of heavy
earth moving equipment and
large landscaping trucks. A full
crew of volunteers from the
Plymouth Noon Rotary Club
arrived with professional
equipment and landscapers at
the domestic abuse shelter to
transform the surrounding
mud and debris into play-
ground areas and healing gar-
dens, something Associate
Director Theresa Bizoe men-
tioned as a need at the facility
when she was the guest speak-
er at a Rotary Club meeting
last year.
Shewas at the right place at
the right time. The Plymouth
Rotary Club membership
includes at least two profes-
sional landscape company
owners and Tim and Eric Joy
of Christensen's Plant Center,
one of the largest wholesale
landscape plant suppliers in
the area.
The professionals issued a
challenge to the Rotary mem-
bership, noting that for every
volunteer from the club, they
would bring one of their staff
members to help with the
installation of playgrounds and
landscaping at First Step. On
Saturday, the design of
Jonathan Dreyfuss of Ann
Arbor-based Greenscape
Systems, became a reality as
volunteers and professionals
alike went to work planting
most of the planned 60 shade
trees, installing a variety of
playground equipment and
planting and constructing four
separate healing gardens. The
planwill include four separate
play areas, each designed for
children of specific age groups.
The volunteers hope to
have the gardens and the proj-
ect nearly complete this year
with more finishing work
plannednext spring.
Tim Joy, who is now presi-
dent of the Plymouth Noon
Rotary Club, was among those
shoveling, lifting and working
at the site, alongside his son,
Eric, and the crewof workers.
“I told her (Bizoe) at the end
of the meeting that I would
like to help. I was moved by
her talk. First Step is for vic-
tims of domestic violence, but
it's mostly for the kids. I want-
ed to do this for the kids,” he
said.
Rotary member Paul
Opdyke, the owner of Serene
Surroundings, was also among
those workings along with his
landscape crew Saturday.
“Rotarians are putting in the
effort and the resources, and I
wanted to do the same. It was
the right thing to do,” Opdyke
said.
When complete, the play-
ground which covers more
than an acre, will also include
a splash pad, a bucket-swing
set, a large sandbox and a vari-
ety of playground equipment
repurposed fromanother facil-
ity.
Bizoe said the entire con-
cept and design is based on
providing a place where fami-
lies will be able to heal from
the trauma they have seen.
“Adults who come here will
feel like their kids are going to
be OK. We think it's an impor-
tant part of the healing process
for both the adults and kids,”
she said.
Apparently, so do the
PlymouthRotarians.
Volunteers, including professional landscapers, from the Plymouth Noon Rotary Club stepped up to
aid the efforts to build gardens and playgrounds at the First Step shelter in Wayne.