California fugitive arrested at father's Elmwood Township home

The Michigan State Police Fugitive team arrested a 29 year-old El Dorado California woman Thursday.  Brandi M. Thomas was taken into custody by the fugitive team at 10:00 am at her father's Elmwood Township home.  Arrangements had been made by her family's California attorney and the fugitive team for her surrender at that time and location.  She was believed to have only been in this area for a short period of time.  El Dorado County investigators contacted Leelanau County Sheriff's Office earlier in the week to attempt to locate and arrest the suspect after they developed information that she may be in Michigan.

Thomas was wanted for a parole violation stemming from a 2009 conviction for felony Driving Under the Influence with injuries.  She was sentenced to 7 years in state prison after running into two female bicyclists in El Dorado Hills, CA on June 18, 2008.  Both women suffered critical injuries, included a broken back and traumatic brain injury. The sentence was suspended and Thomas was given 1 year in jail and five years of formal probation with a condition to obey all laws.  She was also ordered to pay the victim's medical expenses of $1.4 million dollars.

Thomas was arrested on burglary charges in August 2011, resulting in the probation violation.  She was also charged with forgery and conspiracy to commit a crime.  Those charges are pending in Placer County California.

The suspect was transported to the Leelanau County jail and will be held pending extradition hearings in Leelanau County and transport back to California. 

 

Man arrested after attempting to drive through SB bank with no drive thru



                                                                              

Leelanau Dispatch received a report at 1:15am Thursday that a black pickup had just run into the front of the Fifth Third Bank on St. Joseph's St. in Suttons Bay.  There is no drive thru service at that branch.

Leelanau deputies arrived and could not locate the suspect vehicle at the scene but did observe significant damage to the bank.  A witness said he was sitting in his vehicle along the southbound shoulder of St. Joseph's St., just south of the bank.  He heard squealing tires behind him and looked in his rear view mirror and saw a black pickup fishtailing and out of control.  He then saw it crash into Fifth Third Bank.  He said the vehicle backed away from the building after the crash and drove away, turning onto Broadway St.

Another Leelanau County patrol unit was responding to the area and located the suspect vehicle near Suttons Bay high school.  It was black with fresh damage to the front of the pickup truck.  The 24 year-old driver said he was going back to a Suttons Bay establishment to retrieve his cell phone.  He denied crashing into Fifth Third Bank.

The driver showed numerous signs of intoxication and admitted to drinking and smoking marihuana earlier in the evening.  Field sobriety tasks were performed and the man was arrested after failing the tasks.  His Datamaster breath test result after his arrest was .25%.

He eventually admitted to crashing into the bank, saying he got into a disagreement with a fellow patron at a local establishment and was afraid he was going to be assaulted.  He lost control of his vehicle as he sped away from the establishment.  When asked why he didn't report the accident he said he said he didn't call because he was drunk.  He was not injured and no damage estimate has been received from Fifth Third.


The Suttons Bay man was arrested for Operating While Intoxicated with a High BAC >.17% and leaving the scene of an accident.  He was also charged with Possession of Marihuana after the drug was discovered in his possession.  He remains jailed until bond is posted. 

Found Northport hound now available for adoption

The found dog shown last week in the Eyes and Ears of the County portion of this blog has not been identified or claimed by its owner and is now available for adoption.  Contact the Cherryland Humane Society at 946-5116 with questions about the process.