Free Republic

A 27-year-old Grand Rapids man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the shooting death of his roommate, a killing that testimony showed involved a dispute over a Playstation controller. Devan James Cole pleaded guilty to the murder charge and felony firearm on Monday, March 21 in Kent County Circuit Court. Related: Man claims self-defense in roommate’s killing in dispute over PlayStation controller A charge of open murder will be dismissed at his June 1 sentencing. Testimony at an earlier hearing showed that Cole and the victim, 27-year-old Anthony Crump, lived in the same Veto Street NW rental house. Crump...

      GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. District Judge Janet T. Neff sentenced Charles Edward Skipp of Grand Rapids to 42 years in prison, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge. Skipp pleaded guilty to 10 felony offenses in February 2020, which included being a felon in possession of firearms, stealing firearms from a licensed firearm dealer, retaliating against a witness, discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, knowing transfer of firearms for use in a crime of violence, aiding and abetting retaliating against an informant, aiding and abetting arson in the commission of a federal felony,...

The police chief of Lowell, Michigan, was forced to resign Thursday after using a Facebook post to praise four citizens who armed themselves to oppose looters. WOOD reports Chief Steven Bukala posted a photo of the four armed citizens and wrote, “So these fine young men called me today. They wanted to exercise their Second Amendment rights and walk down Main Street. They saw what happened in Grand Rapids. They said it’s not going to happen here. We have your backs. I thanked them for letting me know they were in town and to call if they see something.”

Lowell PD chief ousted over controversial Facebook post Kent County by: Ken Kolker Posted: Jun 5, 2020 / 12:05 PM EDT / Updated: Jun 5, 2020 / 06:16 PM EDT LOWELL, Mich. (WOOD) — The Lowell police chief was forced to resign just days after a controversial Facebook post that supported four young men who had armed themselves against potential protesters. Chief Steven Bukala was told to resign by 5 p.m. Thursday or that he would be fired at 5:01 p.m., according to documents obtained Friday by News 8. He resigned by email.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The first person to be charged for rioting Saturday night into Sunday morning in downtown Grand Rapids has been charged but he certainly will not be the last. On Monday morning, 18-year-old Adrian Baker of Gobles was charged with the 10-year felony in Grand Rapids District Court. Judge Michael Distel explained the charge to the teen. “You did while in concert with five or more other persons wrongfully engage in violent conduct and thereby recklessly cause or create a serious risk of causing public terror or alarm,” Distel told Baker, who was appearing via video...

Boy Invites His Entire Kindergarten Class to His Adoption Hearing—and the Ceremony Was Incredibly Sweet. A 5-year-old boy named Michael from Grand Rapids, Michigan, showed up for an adoption hearing on Thursday. The heartwarming thing was that his entire kindergarten class turned up to cheer him on and congratulate him on starting a new chapter in his life

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Grand Rapids church is working to change the relationship between churches and the LGBTQ community. The First United Methodist Church on Fulton Street and Barclay Avenue hosted their fourth ever inclusive Communion service on Sunday night. This comes after Kent County Judge Sara Smolenski says she was denied Communion at her home church for being gay. Smolenski says she’s been a parishioner at St. Stephen Catholic Church in East Grand Rapids for 62 years and this has never happened to her before. “Why exclude anyone when they have sincere desire to come to God’s...

Lesbian judge denied Communion tried to get priest removed as chaplain from Catholic lawyer’s group EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan, November 27, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — LifeSite has learned that the lesbian judge currently orchestrating a coup against the Catholic priest who runs the parish she attends has previously attempted to not only smear him as a bigot but has tried to get him removed as chaplain of the Catholic Lawyers Association of Western Michigan.  Judge Sara Smolenski is the chief judge of the Kent County District Court in Western Michigan. Earlier this week, Smolenski appeared on local NBC affiliate WOOD-TV 8...

Bishop sides with priest who denied ‘married’ lesbian judge communion PETITION: Stand with priest who refused communion to lesbian 'married' judge. Click here. GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan, November 27, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Bishop David Walkowiak of Grand Rapids, Michigan has expressed his support for Fr. Scott Nolan, the priest at St. Stephen's Catholic Church in his diocese who has come under fire after a lesbian judge complained to a local media outlet that he had refused her Holy Communion because she is "married" to a woman. In his statement, Bishop Walkowiak thanked the judge, Sara Smolenski, chief judge of the Kent County District Court, for her...

When a county worker knocked on Abraham Joshua's front door Tuesday morning, he only expected notice that maintenance on a clogged culvert was complete. So, the 70-year-old Grand Rapids resident shuffled over, still dressed in pajamas. "It was still early," Joshua laughed. The news - that a crew from the Kent County Road Commission had found a cherished ring missing for about 20 years - was an awakening. "The man goes, 'Does this belong to you?'" Joshua said. The ring, even after a couple decades buried in dirt, still shined and a cut out of a cross was still visible....

Democratic state Rep. Brandon Dillon represents the 75th House District, which includes part of the city of Grand Rapids. He is in his third and final term in the House. Growing up, I always considered myself "pro-life." As someone who was raised in Grand Rapids, went to Catholic school for 13 years, and has been blessed with beautiful (and active!) twin 12-year-old boys of my own, it was just part of who I was and the community I came from. That's why, as an elected official at both the county and state level, I previously sought the endorsement of Right...