Detroit woman sues betMGM over $3M winnings; Operation Brison starts; Michigan Senate: no fraud in elections

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DETROIT - A woman sued BetMGM after they denied her $3 million in winnings. A Father's Day tragedy on the highway. Detroit and Michigan State Police commence Operation Brison to cut down on freeway shootings. Michigan Senate report finds no evidence of fraud in 2020 election.

Here are the top stories of the week.

Detroit woman sues BetMGM for denying her $3 million winnings

Jacqueline Davis had a lot of success on BetMGM's gambling app playing one of their roulette games. About $3 million worth of luck when it was all said and done.

She played "pretty much every number on the table. I was losing a lot, but I was also winning a lot." That winning took her from $50 to $11 million in winnings. She eventually settled on $3 million before finally deciding to stop while she was ahead. "When I got to the three, I wanted to start withdrawing," she said.

But that's when Davis ran into trouble. At the end of March, she went to MGM in Detroit to get a $100,000 advance on her winnings - which she got. The next day she went back for the rest of her money - but the casino told her no.

"They are claiming there was a glitch in the game," Davis said. But her attorney said it wouldn't matter whether there was a glitch or not - and that money should be hers.

Woman says BetMGM won't pay her $3 million she won online due to glitch

At the end of March, Jacqueline Davis went to MGM in Detroit to get a $100,000 advance on her winnings. She was given $100,000 in cash. Then she went back the next day to get more money but she says MGM told her no, and that she was not getting any more money.

The latest: Detroit woman says BetMGM won't pay $3 million she won in online game due to 'glitch'

Infant found alone in Detroit home, both parents bound, gagged, executed; suspect arrested

On Monday, Detroit Police said a 31-year-old man was found bound, gagged, and executed while his 27-year-old fiance was also shot and killed inside a home in Detroit. Also inside the home was the couple's 9-month-old baby.

The man’s relatives made the discoveries as they stopped by the home Monday afternoon located near Thatcher.

"Some family members came to check, they hadn’t heard anything from anybody in a minute," said another neighbor. "And, they managed to get the front window open, and discovered the scene, and got the baby out and asked me to call 911."

A few days later, police identified a person of interest, Orlando Whitfield. a man who was already facing murder charges in Ypsilanti. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Washtenaw County Judge Carol Kuhnke let him out bond out and put him on a tether.

Person of interest in double murder Orlando Whitfield faces judge

The person of interstate in this week’s double homicide on Northlawn Street, Orlando Whitfield was seen briefly before a judge Wednesday for a bond violation hearing..as his attorney requested the hearing to take place during another court matter set for next week.

But last week police alerted the family of Marissa Edmunds that Whitfield had cut off his tether and could not be located.

When he was connected to the Northlawn double murder, the mother of the victim was in disbelief that he was still allowed to roam the streets.

"It is awful, it is like a nightmare and I can’t wake up," Cindy Warren said. "I know he’s a person of interest in the homicides in Detroit. My feeling is if he did do it, had he been in custody, these people would still be alive."

The latest: Ypsilanti murder suspect, Detroit murder person of interest Orlando Whitfield faces judge

Dad witnesses head-on crash that kills daughters on Father's Day

The father of two young women was traveling in front of them on I-75 last Sunday when he saw a car cross over the freeway median to avoid an accident and hit their car, killing them.

The Father's Day tragedy happened around 2:30 p.m. in Otsego County in northern Michigan. State police said the head-on crash happened after a 21-year-old woman traveling the opposite direction tried to avoid a collision when it ran off the road.

Inside the victim's car were three women, a 22-year-old from Rochester and two sisters; 22-year-old Kaele Lynn Polzin and 16-year-old Sara Summerlyn Polzin, both from Richmond in Macomb County. Both drivers were injured while the sisters died in the crash.

Michigan State Police said the crash is still under investigation.

The latest: Michigan dad witnesses head-on crash that kills daughters on Father's Day

Michigan lifts Covid restrictions

On Tuesday, Michigan's long-running COVID-19 restrictions, including mask mandates for people not fully vaccinated and capacity limits on businesses, came to an end.

The reopening saga's next chapter comes about 470 days since Michigan confirmed its first case of COVID-19. While dates for returning to normal have moved up after successful rollouts of the vaccine, the human toll of close to 20,000 citizens dead from the virus represents a scar from the pandemic.

The original plan was to open eligibility for the vaccine for non-essential workers who aren't immunocompromised or aging around that time, which is a testament to the dynamic nature of the state's response to the pandemic. Only months ago, the state had well above the highest infection rate as it faced a third surge of infections and hospitalizations.

Michigan's elderly groups, those 65 and older and most vulnerable groups are nearly 80% covered by the vaccine. About 65% of adults 50-64 have also gotten at least one dose.

And, on Friday, Michigan reported only 40 new cases, the lowest total since March of 2020.

The details: Michigan's last day of COVID-19 restrictions

With end of COVID restrictions on Tuesday, businesses prepare for full capacity

On Tuesday, most of MIchigan's COVID-19 restrictions will end and businesses throughout the state are now preparing for a return to a full house.

Delta variant reported in Michigan

A new, more infectious variant of the coronavirus that's expected to become the dominant strain in the U.S. in the coming weeks was confirmed by the health department for the first time this week. Twenty-five cases of the Delta variant were reported in Michigan.

While 11 were confirmed in Michigan residents, another 11 were reported in residents that aren't from Michigan. Another three cases had yet to have their location identified.

The first confirmed Delta cases among Michigan residents were found on May 9 when four were discovered by the Department of Health and Human Services. Another five were confirmed in May while two were reported in June. Among the earliest cases, three were in Wayne County and another in Livingston County. Since then, cases have also been reported in Oakland, Lapeer, and Calhoun County.

The recently-discovered COVID-19 strain poses a particular danger to unvaccinated people because of its rapid spreading capability and could prompt another surge in cases around the U.S. It's likely to become the predominant strain in the country within the next few weeks.

The latest: 25 cases of Delta COVID-19 variant reported in Michigan

Operation Brison begins in Detroit

After the callous murder of 2-year-old Brison Christian, while he rode with his family in a pickup truck last week, Detroit Police and Michigan State Police announced Operation Brison to cut down on a recent surge in shootings on Metro Detroit freeways.

Brison was killed in what the prosecutor said was a case of mistaken identity where the shooters apparently targeted the wrong pickup truck.

The same day the two suspects were identified and charged, MSP and DPD announced Operation Prison which will be a partnership between multiple police agencies throughout southeast Michigan.

Detroit and Michigan State Police announced the plan earlier this week to combine forces with other metro area police agencies. The goal is to find solutions to the violence on I-75.

On Thursday, they met for the first time in Detroit.

"I want to thank the chiefs from around the region for coming together today. We had a very good meeting, very promising meeting," Interim Detroit Police Chief James White said. "It's very important that Dearborn participates. All roads lead to Dearborn or come through Dearborn through the city of Detroit and suburban communities."

Detroit police, state police to crack down on freeway shootings in memory of 2-year-old Brison Christian

Operation Brison was announced Tuesday amid a surge in freeway shootings, including a recent one that took the life of 2-year-old Brison Christian.

Republican-led investigation finds no fraud in 2020 election

A Michigan Senate Investigation into the 2020 general election uncovered no truth to allegations of fraudulent activity during voting and poured cold water on theories that allege it was not fair. A 35-page report from the Senate Oversight Committee delved into absentee ballots, dead voter allegations, errors in Antrim County, and harassment accusations in Wayne County.

Ultimately, however, the Republican-led investigation found no truth to the conspiracy theories that encircled Michigan's election systems in the months after Nov. 6.

That report fell in line with the hundreds of audits the state performed on the election in the weeks before. But it also drew the wrath of the former president, who said the GOP Chair of the committee and the Senate majority leader should be voted "the hell out of office!"

Former President Donald Trump continued to rail against the 2020 election in a statement following the report's publishing.

The latest: Senate-led investigation of Michigan's 2020 election uncovers no evidence of fraud

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