10:32 AM Sep 15, 2011
The Ludington father of a baby who has been missing since late June is facing reduced charges in her disappearance. A judge on Wednesday dismissed a kidnapping charge filed against 21-year-old Sean Phillips. He's jailed on $250,000 bond, and scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday on charges of parental kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment. Phillips now faces up to 15 years in prison instead of a possible life sentence.
11:23 AM Sep 15, 2011
UPDATE (11:23 a.m.): The woman was reportedly found about a mile from her home. The Muskegon County Sheriff's Department is searching for a missing woman, who is an Alzheimer's patient. The Sheriff's Department said Marilyn Baustert, 75, left a home on foot in the 200 block of North Bossett Road sometime between 9 p.m. Wednesday and 3 a.m. today. A family member woke up and found her missing. Marilyn Bastert is 5-foot-3-inches tall and weighs 165 pounds. She has brown eyes.
11:40 AM Sep 14, 2011
Police are on the lookout for two men who robbed and shot another man outside a Muskegon apartment complex on Tuesday night. Muskegon Police said the shooting happened around 9:45 p.m. at the Glen Oaks apartment complex on Harvey Street. Residents called 911 after hearing shots fired. When officers arrived, they found a man laying on the ground. He was shot at least two times and told police two men he did not know robbed him. The man is recovering at a local hospital, authorities said; however, his condition is not known.
12:00 PM Sep 13, 2011
A Vicksburg man is facing prison time after admitting he sent Internet and text messages to someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl seeking sex. Christopher Sparks, 27, entered a guilty plea Monday to charges including accosting children for immoral purposes, and using a computer to commit a crime. Wyoming Police arrested Sparks at a park on June 6. They said he had arranged to meet a teenage girl at the park for sex, after meeting her through online social networking sites. Officers said Sparks switched to text messages to set up the meeting spot.
10:54 AM Sep 13, 2011
Police are looking for suspects who caused more than $25,000 in damage to West Ottawa High School's football field press box over the weekend. Sgt. Valerie Weiss of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department said the damage was discovered Sunday. Police believe someone caused the damage late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. Weiss said the vandals destroyed the building's sound equipment and items left inside the press box, and they also smashed all of the windows in the building.
10:41 AM Sep 13, 2011
One of Michigan's top Republicans in the 1990s is allowed to continue getting his $79,000 a year state pension regardless of the outcome of his trial on sex charges involving children. Documents obtained under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act state Phillip Arthurhultz has a monthly pension benefit of $6,620, or $79,440 annually, from his 15 years representing the Muskegon area, according to The Associated Press.
10:32 AM Sep 13, 2011
West Michigan authorities are asking for the public's help in finding two gun-toting men who robbed a Grand Rapids-area bank and who were caught on a security camera. The Allegan County Sheriff's Department has released photos of the suspects in the robbery, which happened about 10:30 a.m. Monday at a Chemical Bank branch in the unincorporated community of Moline. It's in Leighton Township, about 15 miles south of Grand Rapids. Police said the bank's employees and customers weren't hurt.
12:13 PM Sep 12, 2011
Authorities are investigating claims that thousands of dollars are missing from T-shirt sales to benefit a foundation that was created to honor a Michigan basketball player who died in March. The Allegan County Sheriff's Department said its investigation could be completed in a few days. More than 1,000 T-shirts were sold with assurances that money would go to Wes Leonard's family or the Wes Leonard Heart Team foundation.
11:38 AM Sep 12, 2011
A traffic stop involving a riding lawn mower in Allegan County has led to a methamphetamine bust. Allegan County Sheriff's deputies stopped a man riding the mower early Sunday near the village of Martin. Police said the man was arrested on suspicion of possessing meth and components to make the drug. Authorities said the man had a prior history of meth charges.
3:40 PM Sep 11, 2011
The U.S. Department of Justice has announced arson charges against a Muskegon landlord. Gerald Singer is also charged with insurance fraud and filing false federal income tax returns. Singer is charged with allegedly causing nine fires dating back to 1993, including a house he owned in Grand Haven's Olde Towne neighborhood. The indictment alleges he had legal interest in the following properties destroyed by fire: March 1, 1993; 530 Elliott St. in Grand Haven July 23, 1995; 2809 Hoyt in Muskegon Heights

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