St. Clair Shores police officer convicted of misdemeanor in vigilante case
St. Clair Shores police Sgt. Michael Notoriano was accused of assaulting three men at an east side gas station in retaliation for the theft of his daughter's iPhone in July, 2015.
A police officer who took the law into his own hands was convicted by a jury of a misdemeanor Friday.
St. Clair Shores police Sgt. Michael Notoriano was accused of assaulting three men at an east side gas station in retaliation for the theft of his daughter's iPhone in July, 2015.
Notoriano was convicted of a 1-year misdemeanor of willful neglect of duty. He was found not guilty on other charges of armed robbery, unlawful imprisonment, felonious assault, ethnic intimidation and felony firearm.
He will be sentenced on March 8, before Judge Timothy Kenny.
Prosecutors claimed that Notoriano was off-duty when he and Detroit police Sgt. David Pomeroy tracked down the phone and confronted the men.
The defense has argued that one of the alleged victims had a handgun and was going to use it. Pomeroy retrieved the gun and stolen iPhone at the scene according to published reports.
In Feb. 20, Notoriano was tried but the case ended with a hung jury.
Assistant Prosecutor Maria Miller said: “We believe that the charges were warranted under the facts and evidence in this case. Although we are disappointed with the jury’s verdict, we do note that they held defendant Notoriano accountable for his conduct by finding him guilty of willful neglect of duty.”