Craig's exploratory committee, murder victim's family battles to reclaim home from killer, kwame talks prison

WEDNESDAY NEWS HIT - Detroit's former police chief James Craig says he is opening an exploratory committee into a run for governor in Michigan. 

In both a video posted on YouTube and a press release that was sent early Wednesday morning, Craig confirmed rumors about an interest in a run for Michigan's top political office. 

Forming an exploratory committee is a common first official step that prospective political candidates take when considering a run for office. It also enables a candidate to begin fundraising for a run for office. A formal announcement for governor will likely come after Labor Day, the release also said.

"What's this about?" he asks in the video after talking about his work during the civil unrest last summer. "I'm opening an exploratory committee to help me think about a run for governor in the state of Michigan."

The video, titled ‘Leading from the Front,’ was posted online Wednesday morning.

Craig had hinted about a major announcement during a TV interview last week. He's also made two political speeches in recent weeks while rumors have continued circulating since his retirement from the Detroit police force. 

"I led as Chief of Police - and began my life - on the streets of Detroit," read a statement from the release. "Now it is time to travel the state, and visit other communities. I will be talking with law enforcement, hosting small business roundtables, and meeting with voters in their homes to hear about the negative impact the current Governor’s policies are having on their communities, their workplaces, and their families."

He also criticized policy decisions by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, referencing several talking points among the Republican officials, including an incident last year regarding Whitmer's boat, a flight to Florida to see her dad earlier this year, and attending a bar in East Lansing after recommending people avoid gatherings. 

FOX 2 has also confirmed that Craig plans to make an appearance on Tucker Carlson tonight where he will make an announcement. 

Pedestrian struck by train in Wayne

Police officials say they are investigating an incident involving a train in the city of Wayne after someone was allegedly struck.

Law enforcement also shut down Merriman Road near Michigan Avenue for much of Wednesday morning following the incident. 

It happened around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. An Amtrak passenger train from Chicago to Detroit was en route when it made a sharp stop.

Passengers that were onboard that FOX 2 spoke with said they definitely felt the train hit something around midnight. The roadway cleared up around 5:30 a.m. Police have declined to release any more information about the incident. 

Family of murder victim fights to reclaim home that killer gave to relatives

A court battle between Michelle Singh and her sister to take back their family home has put them against the family of the man who killed their mother. Singh's mother Martha Watters was found murdered in February of 2018 and their stepfather Gregory Agnew was eventually charged.

But as Agnew awaited trial, he also used a quitclaim deed to sign over the family home to his mother and sister for a dollar. It's the same house where Singh and her family grew up. "Emotionally (it has been) exhausting," Michelle said. "But I think my sister and I have a certain fight to continue to push through what we are going through."

They have been fighting in probate court to get it back. Under the Slayer Statute, which prevents a killer from profiting from their wrong. Although Agnew was sentenced to life, he appealed. They are awaiting a decision from the Michigan Supreme Court, which has to deny the appeal for Michelle's family to legally get back the house.

But Michelle says her stepfather's family left it in disarray when the court made her the personal representative of the estate. "Walking through the window it was awful," she said. "The dogs were laying on the ground and then barking. There were feathers and rodents dead., there were dog feces everywhere. It was the worst condition you could imagine."

Kwame Kilpatrick reflects on prison time

It was during Kwame Kilpatrick's third time speaking in front of a Detroit church that he opened up about his experience in prison. He also made it clear that he "does not have a taste for politics" and doesn't anticipate returning to the public forum anytime soon. Instead, he prioritizing his time toward his faith and the word of God. 

"I’m not your savior, but I can point you to the one who is," Kilpatrick said, speaking from The Citadel of Praise Church, next to Paster Spencer Ellis. During a speech he gave before a sermon, he said he had thoughts of suicide, suffered a heart attack, and feeling hopeless. During his sentence, he said he felt more fear about losing his family than losing his seat as mayor.

He also spoke about finding a new love, his fiancé from Detroit, who came to visit him in 2018 while he was locked up in prison. "Latisia I met her when she was 12 years old," he said. "This is the thing you all should know. When I came and taught, I'm coming out of college, I get the first job I ever had and they gave me a class. And there is a little girl with a bunch of east side kids at Marcus Garvey Academy on the east side of Detroit."

And he said he understands that he will have doubters and non-believers as he embarks down this path. "I would be just like you, skeptical," he said. "I’m going to do it whether people like it, or they don't. Whether people approve, or whether they don't. Because I know I am only here on this stage by grace."

Shelby Township tanning salon sued after man put cameras in rooms

An attorney is suing a Shelby Township tanning salon after a man pleaded no contest to hiding cameras in three of the rooms at the Chili Peppers Tanning center. The cameras were discovered by an off-duty police officer in early 2020.

Attorney Ven Johnson is representing 20 clients who say they were victims of Brian Maciborski, who was called a serial predator due to previous incidents involving him exposing himself at a gym and installing cameras in an Oakland County woman's bedroom. 

Johnson said he believes employees at the salon knew or should have suspected something wasn't right when Maciborski was visiting the business multiple times.

Last year a witness told the Macomb County prosecutor that Maciborski did side-work as a handyman and kept the videos on an external hard drive. A source also told FOX 2 that he is an IT expert. 

What else we're watching

1. Buzzfeed News published a large expose into the men at the center of a kidnapping plot that involved the Michigan governor. Only, according to the defendants, they believe they were set up and accuse the FBI informants of having a bigger influence in the plan than originally reported.
2. The second round of vaccine lottery winners from the state's MI Shot To Win Sweepstakes will be announced during a 10:30 a.m. press conference.
3. One woman is dead and a man is in critical condition after a double shooting on Detroit's west side. The victims were traveling near Heyden & Wadsworth when the shooting happened.
4. A domestic situation that was first thought to be a barricaded gunman ended peacefully with one man in custody. The suspect had been hiding in a nearby Garden City home. 
5. Congresswoman Rep. Brenda Lawrence is hosting a FEMA flood assistance town hall today at 10 a.m. She'll be streaming the discussion with the small business association, the lieutenant governor, and others on her Facebook page. 

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

The mid-week cooldown has arrived and it's going to bring pleasant conditions all around. Temperatures will reach the high 70s, there will be partly sunny skies, and low humidity. But, the severe weather bug is just around the corner with more storms expected at the end of the week. 

4 companies on verge of settling $26B deal in opioid lawsuits

The yearslong effort by state and local governments in the U.S. to force the pharmaceutical industry to help pay to fix a nationwide opioid addiction and overdose crisis took a major step forward Tuesday when lawyers for local governments announced they were on the verge of a $26 billion settlement with the nation's three biggest drug distribution companies and the drugmaker Johnson & Johnson.

Under the deal, Johnson & Johnson would not produce any opioids for at least a decade. And AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson share prescribing information under a new system intended to stop the avalanches of pills that arrived in some regions about a decade ago.

The yearslong effort by state and local governments in the U.S. to force the pharmaceutical industry to help pay to fix a nationwide opioid addiction and overdose crisis took a major step forward Tuesday when lawyers for local governments announced they were on the verge of a $26 billion settlement with the nation's three biggest drug distribution companies and the drugmaker Johnson & Johnson.

Under the deal, Johnson & Johnson would not produce any opioids for at least a decade. And AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson share prescribing information under a new system intended to stop the avalanches of pills that arrived in some regions about a decade ago.