THESQUALL
February 27, 2009 Volume XIV Issue 6
%FYUFS )JHI 4DIPPM 2200 N. Parker Road
Dexter MI, 48130
Alexander Dobbs Staff Writer
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One current and two ex-Dexter High School students face charges of home invasion and assault after a Hamburg Township man reported they broke into his home on Sunday, Jan. 11, and allegedly assaulted him before taking him into their car and dropping him off a mile away from his home. The three: Michael Scott Campbell, 20; a 17-year old DHS senior and Nicholas Anthony Graves, 18, reportedly forced their way into the 19-year-old man’s Seney Circle home in the Mystic Ridge site condominiums, just south of Strawberry Lake Road and tracked him to the bathroom as he ran from the pursuers. According to a Jan. 14 article in TheLivingston County Press and Argus, after the man was able to escape from his persuers, he locked himself in the bathroom to get away. However, the three were able to force their way into the bathroom, where they proceeded to kick and punch the man before dragging him outside into their car. The attack and ensuing kidnapping was allegedly carried out over a $160 drug debt. “They took the victim against his will,” Hamburg Police Chief Steve Luciano said. “We think it’s debt-related and possibly drug-related.” However, Livingston County Prosecutor David F. Morse said the attack actually may have been carried out as pay back for an assault case last year when one of the suspect’s friends was attacked. After the Hamburg Township man was taken from his home, Luciano said the victim’s 17-year-old girlfriend, who was unharmed, called police to alert them to the incident. She provided police with a description of the vehicle the suspects had been driving and approximately what time her boyfriend had been taken. According to “The Press and Argus” story, the police then put out a “be on the lookout” warning to other local area law enforcement agenices. Within an hour of the phone call from the girlfriend, a Pinckney police officer located Michael Campbell and Graves in an apartment complex. With assistance from an Unadilla Township officer, the two officers apprehended the suspects. After the arrest of the older Campbell and Graves, Police Sgt. Gary Harpe said police were still unable to locate the DHS student. However, they did eventually reach him by phone and convinced him to turn himself in to police custody. Later that evening, the DHS seniorturned himself into Pinckney Police. Preceding their arrests, the three were held on $300,000 bonds in the Livingston County Jail. The three now face official charges of first-degree home invasion and assault and battery. If convicted of the charges, they have the potential to face up to 20 years in prison. The preliminary trial date has been set for April 6. Along with the charges of home invasion and assault, the trio also have involvement in separate cases with charges of delivery or manufacturing of marijuana and of possession of marijuana. The reported incident occurred when police were dispatched to a home on Dexter Street in response to a report of “people crashing” into windows. Pinckney Police Chief Denis Aseltine said that upon their arrival, police found the DHS student and another unidentified 20-year-old man in the home. The 20-yearold man was injured, and the police theorized the two had been fighting and that may have been the cause for the breaking of the window. The two then gave inconsistent stories about how the injury occurred, which prompted police to search the house. Upon searching the residence during the preceding investigation, police found three bags of suspected marijuana, a few marijuana plants, and drug paraphernalia, including scales, pipes and bongs. However, police believe the two cases are separate and the charges and events are unrelated.