Operation Brison begins, $3M in gambling winnings denied over glitch, DPD looks for 2 shooting suspects

A busy week for Detroit police just got busier after two men were involved in the critical shooting of another on Tuesday night.

DPD is looking for information regarding the shooting of a 28-year-old man around 7:48 p.m. in the area of Buffalo and East Lance.

Law enforcement has released photos and names of two men they say got in a fight with the man before one pulled a gun out and shot him.

The suspects in the shooting are James Milton Jones Jr., 24, and Sedale Lee Gilliam, 27.

Both men are described as Black males. 

The victim is currently in critical condition after he was privately taken to a local hospital after being shot. 

It's the latest case of violence that seems to be enveloping the streets of Detroit and other communities. The search also began only hours after police from the state and the city announced a partnership to patrol the freeways to reduce shootings that recently took the life of a 2-year-old.

She won $3M gambling online. BetMGM says it was a glitch

A frequent user of online gambling apps, Jacqueline Davis was finding herself doing well after making a $50 bet on the BetMGM playing roulette. She turned that original bet into $11 million before seeing her fortunes fall. After hitting $3 million, she decided to stop.

"I was losing a lot, but I was also winning a lot," she said. She played five straight days, beginning on March 18. She also hardly slept. "Who sleeps when they're winning money?" she quipped.

But when Davis went to retrieve her money, MGM told her no. She had gone to the casino to get a $100,000 advance on her winnings, which she did. When she went back the next day to get more, she was denied. MGM said a glitch in the game had enabled her winnings. Her lawyer said that's not a defense. 

FOX 2 reached out to BetMGM's attorney for comment, but he had no comment - and hung up the phone.  

Operation Brison begins

The shooting death of a 2-year-old in Detroit on I-75 last week has yielded murder charges for two men. But that's only the beginning of a new campaign to cut down on violence on the freeways. Detroit and Michigan State Police are partnering to cut down on shootings with Operation Brison - honoring the toddler.

The collaboration will incorporate air support and patrols on freeways to look out for road rage incidents. Interim Chief James White said DPD would be coordinating with police forces the suburbs on the main freeways that connect them.

Lt. Mike Shaw said both departments would use every piece of technology available. He also said the cameras connected to Project Green Light were key to making arrests. 

"Operation Brison is about honoring this baby who didn't get a chance to live, get a chance to go to school, didn't get a chance to graduate," White said.

Whitmer looks to expand free tuition for more workers

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced revised plans for the state's budget surplus on Tuesday, hoping to boost access to community college for 22,000 more essential workers. 

The free tuition system works through her Future for Frontliners program, which offers to fund two years of school after high school for people who don't have a degree. So far, more than 13,000 people have already finished at least one semester through the program.

The expansion is expected to cost $100 million and would be expanded to include workers that filled essential roles during the pandemic between November 2020 and January 2021.

She made the announcement at an event in Belle Isle, where she and several other leaders announced the official end of pandemic restrictions in Michigan.

Can bosses ask about or demand vaccinations?

With very few pandemic restrictions still governing the lifestyles of Michigan residents, there's not much standing in the way of businesses returning to their pre-Covid work patterns. 

But where is the line for businesses and bosses that are trying to restructure the office or workplace around the post-pandemic reopening? Can they ask about a vaccine status? Can they make someone get a vaccine?

The short answer is yes and yes. Some lawsuits have already been filed against employers that mandated the COVID-19 vaccine before firing its workers, including a notable case at a hospital in Houston where 150 nurses and staff quit or were fired over the rule. 

A judge ultimately sided with the hospital. The government has given businesses a lot of room to flex their own rules because they're a private business. 

What else we're watching

  1. The Detroit Pistons finally got a win at the lottery when they scored the No. 1 pick during the NBA draft. They've only had the honor two times before.
  2. Some used cars are worth more than they were brand new. The sticker price has become inverted after a microchip shortage made buying used cars a premium.
  3. 35 students from Novi High School will be taking a virtual tour of a Holocaust museum in Israel today. It will take place at Novi's Emagine Theater.  
  4. As attempts to alter the city charter build momentum, the city's former mayor will hold a press conference to offer insight on the initiative, which includes reparations and a fund for paying water bills.
  5. A new $5 million facility dedicated to breast cancer will open at Beaumont Hospital in Wayne today. Tours will be given after a short presentation.

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

Another chilly morning will lead us into a warmer afternoon than Tuesday, with temperatures cracking 70 around 2 p.m. The skies will be partly cloudy for the majority of the day.

For the People Act: Voting rights bill fails to advance in Senate

The U.S. Senate failed to get the 60 votes needed to have a debate on a proposed bill that Democrats believed would expand voting rights for Americans. The proposal came after Democratic lawmakers accused several GOP-led states of passing legislation that ultimately restricted voting for minorities.

The vote was evenly split 50-50 among party lines.

The far-reaching proposal, at nearly 900 pages, was viewed by backers as the civil rights issue of the era, legislation that is suddenly of the highest priority after the 2020 election as states impose restrictive new laws that could make it more difficult to vote. In the evenly split Senate, Republicans were united in opposition, seeing the bill as federal overreach and ultimately denying Democrats the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster and begin debate.