West Bloomfield Board Cites Cost Concern in Opposition to House Bill

Township Board of Trustees resolution stands against creation of Michigan Indigent Defense Commission.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Monday at Town Hall. Receive daily news dedicated to West Bloomfield on Patch. View the proceedings by tuning in to Civic Center TV or watch the live stream online. View the complete agenda on Patch. The West Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees will consider Monday night whether or not the procedure for providing legal representation at 48th District Court should be changed. House Bill 5804, which passed 71-36 on Nov. 8, creates a commission to establish statewide standards and accountability measures for court-appointed attorneys, who are essentially hired by the township and others at the court to represent those charged with felony or misdemeanor crimes in which jail is a possible sentence. A …

• Photos (1)

Grandmother to Stand Trial in Shooting Death of Grandson

911 call placed by Jonathan Hoffman, 17, in which the West Bloomfield native pleads for his life, is played in open court Monday.

Are you signed up for the Patch daily newsletter? Don't wait, get Patched-in now! BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP — Jonathan Hoffman called 911 and pleaded for help after being shot, in a recording played at his grandmother's preliminary examination at 48th District Court Monday. "My grandma shot me," Hoffman said. "I'm going to die. Help me." Prosecutors say Hoffman, 17, died May 18 as a result of multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body at the hands of Sandra Layne, 74, in the West Bloomfield condominium which she owns on Brookview Lane. Layne was bound over for trial to Oakland County Circuit Court by Judge Kimberly Small on an open charge of murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.  During the six-minute call, Hoffman …

•  9 Comments
• Photos (4)

Man Charged in Memorabilia Thefts from Bob Seger's Home

Memorabilia and cash were among items alleged to have been taken from rock singer's Orchard Lake residence during a party. Items stolen include a pair of sneakers autographed by Shaquille O'Neal.

ORCHARD LAKE VILLAGE — A 20-year-old Waterford man was arrested and charged Tuesday with stealing items from the home of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer Bob Seger. Among the items stolen from the lakefront home were a pair of tennis shoes autographed by Shaquille O'Neal and an iconic guitar that graced one of Seger's album covers. Andrew Douglas Thompson was arraigned and charged with larceny from a building, a four-year felony, by 48th District Court Judge Diane D'Agostini. Orchard Lake Village Police Detective Darrell Betts said that Thompson had turned himself in after an investigation stemming from a report of theft from the rock singer's waterfront home last October. "He was the only one I was interviewing," Betts said.  Betts …

• Photos (1)

League of Women Voters Hosts 48th Court Judge Candidates

Candidates including incumbent Diane D'Agostini talk about sobriety court, drunken driving and more at forum for Aug. 7 election candidates.

Residents had a chance to learn more about candidates for 48th District Court judge at a forum for the Aug. 7 primary election Wednesday. Josh Arnkoff, District Judge Diane D'Agostini, and Steven Schwartz participated in the forum at the Bloomfield Township Public Library, hosted by the League of Women Voters Oakland Area. Candidate Gary Sanfield did not participate due to illness. Highlights of the debate included discussion of recent media reports that 48th District Court judges are too harsh on drunken driving offenders after a first-time offender was sentenced to 20 days jail last July. Arnkoff, an assistant prosecuting attorney with Oakland County, said he agreed with a question supposing that some attorneys would rather have their …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (2)

Attorney: Grandmother Felt 'Threatened' on Night of Teen's Fatal Shooting

Hearing for 74-old-old Sandra Layne of West Bloomfield charged in grandson's death is postponed. Father says he 'relented,' when Jonathan Hoffman wanted to stay behind after family moved to Arizona.

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP — The 74-year-old West Bloomfield grandmother accused of fatally shooting her 17-year-old grandson as he pleaded for his life during a 911 call spoke softly to a judge Thursday morning to authorize a delay for her preliminary exam. Sandra Layne, 74, is scheduled to be back before Judge Kimberly Small at 48th District Court on July 2 after Small authorized a motion from prosecutors to test Layne's competence. Prosecutors say Layne shot grandson Jonathan Hoffman, a senior at Farmington Hills Central alternative high school, multiple times Friday at the condo they shared in Maple Place Villas. Defense attorney Jerome Sabbota denied allegations that Layne had pre-planned Hoffman's death by asking her 84-year-old husband to …

•  22 Comments
• Photos (1)

Ronelle Grier

8:06 pm on Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Shera, First, I did not say she sent her husband out because she had "something up her sleeve." I said if she had been truly afraid of her grandson, as she claimed, she would not have sent him away, leaving her alone in the house with Jonathan. No, I can't say with certainty that he did not kick her. But if he did, it was to stop her from using the loaded gun she was pointing at him. She …   more ›

Feature Photo: D'Agostini Holds Court at OLMS

Judge Diane D'Agostini of the 48th District Court spoke with students from Orchard Lake Middle School in West Bloomfield Friday.

Three West Bloomfield Residents Charged with Ethnic Intimidation in Beating

A district court judge added the charges in addition to aggravated assault against all three men.

Judge Small Hears Arguments of Due Process Violations on Drunken Driving Cases

Judge who sent basketball star Jalen Rose to jail is known for being hard on first-time offenders, lawyer charges.

A local defense attorney on Thursday asked 48th District Court Judge Kimberly Small to recuse herself from a pending drunken driving case, alleging that she is legislating from the bench by establishing an almost-mandatory minimum jail sentence. The Detroit Free Press reports that Wayne State University law professor Kenneth Mogill said Small's record of "sending a message" to first-time drunken driving offenders by sentencing them to jail denies his client due process during a motion hearing. “Our position is that you have by your very statements, you have made clear that you have a policy of presumptive minimum sentences. And that is a denial of due process," Mogill said, according to the report. Michigan law has no minimum mandatory …

• Photos (1)