GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The brutal rape of a Grand Rapids college student more than 17 years ago remains unsolved despite a DNA match. That’s because the DNA pointed to one of two identical twins, both convicted sex offenders living in the Muskegon area.

But courtroom arguments more than 800 miles away on Monday could finally lead to a break in this case.

The district attorney in Suffolk County, Massachusetts is arguing that a recent breakthrough in DNA technology can differentiate between identical twins and should be accepted in court.

If accepted, police and prosecutors in Grand Rapids would consider using the same technology to finally solve a rape that happened in November 1999.

In that case, a 26-year-old student was walking to her car after a night class at Kendall College of Art and Design in downtown Grand Rapids when she was attacked by a stranger.

Traditional DNA tests identified the suspect as Jerome Cooper, of Twin Lake, but police later learned he has an identical twin: Tyrone. The Coopers, now 49, are both convicted sex offenders on the sex offender registry living in the same area.

Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said the Boston case could be pivotal in the local case.

In Boston, Dwayne McNair was charged five years ago with eight counts of rape and armed robbery for attacks on two women in 2004. But those charges were dropped because traditional DNA tests couldn’t differentiate between him and his identical twin.

The Suffolk County District Attorney refiled the charges in 2014 after a revolutionary DNA test found Dwayne McNair was several billion times more likely than his brother to be the rapist.

“It would be very nice to have that kind of decision out of Massachusetts because that would give us a basis to take a look at things here again,” Becker said. “But that doesn’t mean by any stretch it’s an automatic wave of the wand and we’re going to be able to proceed on that case.”

Suffolk County DA spokesman Jake Wark said he expects the hearing will last several days, but he said it could take several weeks for the judge to rule.

Even if a judge in Boston rules the science is sound, a judge in West Michigan would have to make their own decision, Becker said.

Then there’s the cost of the test. Boston police and the district attorney’s office split the $120,000 bill.

“It’s a huge issue,” Becker said. “You look at our budget right now, we had to cut money from our budget last year – about $150,000. Even if you cut that (bill) in half, you take it down to $60,000, $50,000, that’s a big hit for our office.”

A lab in Germany developed the test in 2013 for paternity tests — to figure which identical twin was a baby’s father.

“To get a private entity to do it, it may take some special funding we need to take a look at,” Becker said.

**Correction: An earlier version of this article stated the rape happened about 28 years ago. It actually happened more than 17 years ago in November 1999.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) -- An alibi witness who may have been able to clear a man of a double murder was never called to testify, raising new questions about his defense.

The findings of a Target 8 investigation surprised even the Michigan Innocence Clinic, which has taken up the case of Jeff Titus.

Titus has already served nearly 15 years in prison for the 1990 murders of Doug Estes and Jim Bennett, two deer hunters, in the Fulton State Game Area southeast of Kalamazoo.

The alibi witness, Eloise Shepard, and her husband, Gerald Shepard, told the original detectives on the case that at the time Estes and Bennett were shot and killed, Titus was hunting at their farm 27 miles away. Their statement, put in writing and signed less than two weeks after the murders, helped lead the original detectives to clear Titus.

In 2002, more than a decade later, neither of the alibi witnesses was called to testify and their statement was never introduced as evidence in Titus' trial, after which a jury convicted him of two counts of first-degree murder.

It was believed that both the husband and wife were suffering from dementia at the time of the trial, according to the Michigan Innocence Clinic. However, the Shepards' son, Allan Shepard, told Target 8 that his mom never suffered dementia. A neighbor and family friend said the same. Both of his parents have since died.

"She was sharp," Allan Shepard said. "Her mind was sharp. Her body was breaking down, but her mind was sharp."

He said she would have testified, but nobody asked.

"No doubt in my mind she would have testified," he said, adding it "could have" kept Titus out of prison.

Target 8 conducted its own investigation into the case, interviewing witnesses, relatives of the victims, the original detectives who cleared him, as well as Titus in prison.

"Justice was not served," Titus, 64, said. "There's an innocent guy in prison for something he didn't do. But because somebody wants a conviction record, he sits in prison."

"It wasn't Jeff," his mother, Jenny Titus, insisted. "He wouldn't have done that. No way would he have done that."

INNOCENCE CLINIC: DEFENSE FAILED TITUS

The Michigan Innocence Clinic has filed an appeal with the state Court of Appeals, hoping it will order a new trial. It claims Titus' defense attorneys failed him at trial.

"We don't take the case at the Michigan Innocence Clinic until everybody working on it believes two things: one, that the person is completely innocent, not involved at all; and two is that we have new evidence that should convince a judge of it," said Innocence Clinic Director David Moran, who is leading the case.

Nov. 17, 1990 -- more than 26 years ago -- was a Saturday, the second day of firearms deer hunting season, and a perfect day for it. Doug Estes, 33, headed out that afternoon with his stepson and a friend to the thick woods of the Fulton State Game area southeast of Kalamazoo -- right behind Titus' farm.

"I remember it like it was yesterday," Estes' widow, Jan Estes, said. "Every day I think of it. I remember it all. Everything, the whole day. I remember it."

Her husband had split from his group.

Jim Bennett, 37, also went hunting that afternoon in the same woods by himself.

Then, shots.

"I try not to think about how long it's been," Bennett's mother, Esther Bennett Wolf, said. "It's pretty hard to talk about. You know, your first child is kind of special. You can't replace him, and there's always regrets about things you wish you'd have done, seen more of him."

HUNTERS SHOT IN BACK AT CLOSE RANGE

The victims were complete strangers, each shot in the back at close range right through their hunting licenses -- one with a slug, one with buckshot. They were found about 20 feet apart, not far from Titus' property line.

"The police told me that they thought that … he (the killer) had shot Estes, then Jim had apparently walked up and saw it and he turned to leave -- you know, to get out of there -- and they shot him in the back," Bennett's mom said.

Estes' stepson discovered the bodies.

Kalamazoo County sheriff's sergeants Bruce Wiersema and Roy Ballett worked the case, turning their focus on Titus, who owned that neighboring farm.

"We kept hearing reports that the person that we should look at would be Jeff Titus because he lived there and there were rumors or innuendos that he was very possessive of his land," Ballett said.

Titus is a former U.S. Marine who served from 1971 to 1977 and retired as a sergeant first class, according to military records. In the early '70s, he was assigned to help protect Marine One for President Richard Nixon. He also served in the Army National Guard from 1985 to 2001.

At the time of the murders, he was married, had two kids and was working security at the veterans hospital in Battle Creek. He had no criminal record.

ALIBI WITNESSES: 'HERE ALL AFTERNOON'

The original detectives said they quickly cleared Titus through alibi witnesses.

One of those witnesses, Stan Driskell, really wasn't much help. He said he was hunting that afternoon with Titus on a farm near Battle Creek -- 27 miles away from the murder scene. He and Titus split up about 4 p.m. that day, walking to separate blinds.

"There was absolutely no way we could see each other," Driskell said.

He said he didn't see Titus again until about 6 p.m., when they were done hunting.

The shootings happened during that two-hour window -- sometime around 4:30 p.m. -- perhaps just enough time for Titus to drive to his home more than a half-hour away, shoot the hunters and return to the farm near Battle Creek.

But, the original detectives said, they had even better alibi witnesses -- the owners of the farm where Titus and Driskell were hunting. The Shepards were lifelong dairy farmers who often let Titus and Driskell hunt on their land.

The couple signed a statement 11 days after the murders:

"He was here all afternoon with Stan," it read in part. "I know that he was here until dark because I saw him drive out of our drive with the deer he was taking home."

"Mrs. Shepard saw them, waved to them as they left and noticed there was a deer in the back of the truck," said Ballett, one of the original detectives. "There was no indication that he had ever left. He would have had to back out in the driveway, which is directly adjacent to their home and then driven past their dining room window."

Their suspect was no longer a suspect. He wasn't even a person of interest.

DITCHED DRIVER 'SWEATING PROFUSELY'

Instead, they chased another lead -- a speeding car that had crashed into a ditch near the murder scene about the time of the shootings. A witness, according to police reports, said the driver was "sweating profusely."

"He was sweaty and nervous and declined the assistance" of passersby, said Michigan Innocence Clinic Director David Moran, the attorney now working with Titus. "That guy was definitely not Jeff Titus. And that guy, whoever he was, is a pretty strong suspect."

But that lead went cold, and so did the case -- a double-murder mystery.

More than a decade later, the Kalamazoo County cold case team picked it up. By that time, one of the original detectives had retired. The other was not assigned to the team.

Titus no longer had the benefit of his best alibi witnesses -- the Shepards. By that time, they were in their 80s.

"I'm very concerned with the fact that the prosecutor's office, the investigating officers would disregard anything that may point towards the innocence," said Ballett, one of the original detectives.

In December 2001, Kalamazoo County prosecutors charged Titus -- a man with no criminal history -- with both murders.

"It's a claim that he, while hunting in Calhoun County near Battle Creek some 30 minutes away from his own farm in Kalamazoo County, suddenly he gets the urge to sneak away, drive all the way back, finds two guys who are hunting too close to his property line, kills them, even steals their deer, loads the deer into his truck, and then drives all the way back to meet up with his hunting partner who is hunting in a different blind," the Innocence Clinic director said. "It just doesn't make any sense."

WHY WEREN'T DETECTIVES CALLED TO THE STAND?

The Innocence Clinic blames the defense team -- William Fette and co-counsel Ward McDonough.

"We believe it's ineffective assistance of counsel," Moran said.

Why, he wonders, wouldn't the defense call the two original detectives who had cleared Titus a decade earlier to the witness stand?

Titus told Target 8 he urged his lead attorney to make that call.

"They should have brought the original detectives in because they cleared me. And I asked him -- I said, 'Bring the detectives in' and he never did," Titus said.

Ballett, one of those original detectives, said nobody from the defense team contacted him; the other detective says he was subpoenaed for the trial but never called as a witness.

"They had a wealth of information that would have we believe destroyed the prosecution's case," the Innocence Clinic director said.

He said they could have testified about the alibi witnesses, the Shepards. They said Titus had parked his pickup in their driveway that day and didn't leave until 6 p.m. -- long after the murders.

"She would have seen it if it left, yes, definitely," Allan Shepard said of his mother. "She didn't miss anything. The driveway goes right by the house to get to the back, where they park in back."

"If that's what they told them (the detectives), then that's what I believe. They don't lie. My parents were honest people, I'll tell you," he continued.

Video taken of the couple about a year after the trial shows the husband's confusion as result of dementia. It also shows his wife still responsive.

DETECTIVES: KEY WITNESS CHANGED STORY

By 2002 -- a dozen years after the murders -- prosecutors had a witness who gutted Titus' defense.

"They don't have the wrong guy," that witness recently told Target 8. "They have the right guy. I have no doubt it was Jeff. No doubt."

The woman said she was hunting that day on her mom's land just down the road from where Titus lived, very near the murder scene. She didn't want to be identified, saying she was afraid what Titus would do if set free.

"He has threatened everybody and he would get anybody who knew anything about it," she said.

She testified at the trial in 2002 that Titus drove into her mother's driveway between 5 and 6 p.m. that day.

"It was just getting dusk, because I'd just been hunting and come up to mom and dad's, because I was walking up the driveway when he (Titus) pulled in and when he said he found a dead body," she told Target 8.

"That places him then near the crime scene at the time of the crime" instead of 27 miles away, David Moran, the Michigan Innocence Clinic director, said.

"That was a crucial moment of the trial," he said. "The prosecution really played that up. They played up, 'This shows that he snuck back.'"

But the original detectives said that's not the story she and her mom told just days after the murders. In a police report written two weeks after the murders, they pegged that visit at between 8 and 9 p.m.

The Innocence Clinic said the original detectives could have cast doubt on the witness's timeline, if the defense had called them to testify.

"You're representing somebody who's being tried for a crime 12 years earlier and the original detectives cleared your client of that crime. Wouldn't you talk to them?" Moran said.

Then there's this: The defense never learned that one of the cold case detectives had concluded that two shooters were involved. A source close to the case said that detective was removed from the case.

"The police and the prosecution didn't reveal that fact to the defense," Moran said. "We don't know if the prosecution knew it, but the police knew it."

PROSECUTOR: EGO DRIVING ORIGINAL DETECTIVES

Fette, the lead defense attorney, has since been disbarred over an unrelated financial transaction. He did not respond to repeated messages Target 8 left at his home. Co-counsel Ward McDonough at first agreed to an interview but later declined. Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeffrey Getting has not returned calls for comment.

In a Court of Appeals hearing in January, a Kalamazoo County assistant prosecutor argued against overturning the case, saying the two original detectives conducted a "failed investigation." Both, he said, are trying to save face.

"He comes forward out of ego," Assistant Prosecutor Mark Holsomback said of one of the detectives. "He thinks he's right in clearing the defendant as a suspect when he's obviously not."

There is no physical evidence that Titus committed the murders -- no DNA, no fingerprints, no murder weapon, no shell casings, and no eyewitnesses.

Other witnesses testified that Titus had threatened them in the past, sometimes while armed, and had talked about what he would do to trespassers. That includes the woman who hunted on her parents' property next door. She said Titus pointed a gun at her after finding her in an oak tree on her parents' land.

A witness testified Titus answered "probably" when she asked if he was the killer; other witnesses recalled Titus saying the victims deserved it because they were trespassers.

"Jeff Titus is a man who was disliked by his neighbors, who made inappropriate comments about the murders that happened at his property line to his coworkers at the VA hospital," Moran said.

There was also the 12-guage shotgun that belonged to one of the victims, which Titus claimed he later found in the woods. Prosecutors said there was evidence he had cleaned it.

The defense suggested the murders involved drugs. In fact, Estes, one of the victims, had a criminal history that included narcotics.

Years after the guilty verdict, the original detectives reached out to the Michigan Innocence Clinic.

"This was one where two retired police detectives called me up and said. 'The wrong man's in prison,'" Moran said. "'We know because we cleared him.' When we get a call like that, that call goes right to the top of the stack.

"Our screening system is very rigorous, such that we've only taken about 1 percent of the cases that we've reviewed so far, and Jeff Titus is one of those."

Also after the verdict, Titus' former hunting partner, Stan Driskell, conducted his own investigation.

Driskell and Titus were an odd pairing. Driskell is a double Ph.D. researcher who lives in Ann Arbor. But both loved to hunt and often hunted together.

"Jeff Titus is a consummate hunter," Driskell said.

At first, after talking to the cold case team, he wondered if maybe Titus did do it. He said he even wore a wire for police during a phone conversation with him.

Driskell later took a criminology class before spending four months reviewing the case, reading police reports and trial transcripts, walking the woods, taking his own measurements, driving the route Titus would have taken, even conducting ballistics tests.

He turned his results over to the Innocence Clinic and to Target 8.

"He could not have done it," Driskell said. "This is not beyond a question of doubt. This is definitive. He did not do the crime, period."

JUROR: WE GOT IT RIGHT

Target 8 tracked down the jury foreman, identified in court records only as juror no. 176.

He said he was surprised he got picked for the jury at all. He was a Kalamazoo County juvenile probation officer at the time who worked closely with the prosecutor's office.

He said he has no doubt the jury got it right.

"It was a very serious decision to make," said the man, who didn't want to be identified. "There wasn't a dry eye in the jury room when we came to the final decision."

But he said he had no idea the original detectives had cleared Titus. He said he doesn't know if the jury would have been swayed had the original detectives testified about clearing Titus.

"It's a good question, but I don't know if I could answer that, really," he said.

He knew nothing of the alibi witnesses who put Titus in another county. When asked whether that could have swayed the jury, he said, "I would say no."

"That would have been up to the people in the courtroom to present that information at that time," he said. "You can't try the case in someone's front lawn or on a sidewalk.

MOTHERS WANT JUSTICE

Relatives of the victims said they wished the Innocence Clinic would have left it alone.

"It just brings it all back," said Doug Estes' widow. "It brings it back for my son who was there. It brings it back for everybody. It's not just me.  It's everybody."

"I think it's a waste of money," said Jim Bennett's mother. "I'd feel really bad if they decided to turn it around. I don't know where they could get any evidence to do that."

Both women sat through every minute of the trial.

"I was sure in my mind that he did it," Bennett's mom said.

But both say they had no idea the original detectives had cleared Titus and were fighting for his freedom and had no idea an alibi was ignored.

"If they have the wrong guy, I'm really sorry," Estes' widow said. "I don't want them to have the wrong guy. I want the right guy to be there and I believe that he's the right guy."

But Titus' mom said there's no chance her son killed the hunters.

"I didn't raise no killers," she said.

She said she visits her son twice a week in prison.

"I'd like to see Jeff get out before I go," she said. "I'm not in good health. I'd like to see him out of prison."

"I hate to see her go to the grave with me still in here," Titus said.

Back at the Michigan Innocence Clinic, Moran and his team recently won a big victory -- getting a new trial for a Detroit man convicted of killing a 12-year-old girl in 1996.

Moran was waiting for the prisoner's release. Then he got the call: He was being set free after 20 years behind bars.

He hopes for the same for Titus.

"The evidence against Jeff is frankly ridiculous," he said.

EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The stories are similar.

Last March, the Hegeles hired Jeffery Stoltz to remodel their East Grand Rapids home.

“Adding this fourth bedroom was really exciting for us,” Paul Hegele said.

Just a few block away, the Tesserises hired Stoltz in June to redo their home.

“We wanted to open it up, get a bigger kitchen,” Teri Tesseris said.

But what followed was a long list of delays, excuses, questionable bills, half-finished projects and a fraud investigation.

The East Grand Rapids Department Public Safety confirms Stoltz, the owner of Emery Custom Homes and Remodeling, is the subject of that investigation.  And there could be more victims than the two who contacted Target 8.

Stoltz also lives in East Grand Rapids. Both families knew him from their kids’ school events. He is also a member of the City of East Grand Rapids Construction Board of Appeals, a board that hears appeals from residents and contractors relating to construction and architectural matters. So when they needed work done, families were more than willing to hire him.

“Our kids went to preschool together, so we knew he was a builder in the area,” Hegele said.

“He was friend with some friends of ours. So we decided let’s help out a local company get going,” Tesseris said.

But there were delays in finishing the projects. Both families understood the reason for some of those delays. Then other concerns began to surface.

“He’s got stuff started he could have just finished,” Hegele said.

“Just one thing after another,” Chris Tesseris said.

“I mean, he’s bounced checks all over town. Our lumber in this house has not been paid for,” Teri Tesseris added.

After getting promises the work would get done, both families kept paying Stoltz. But now, the couples say they’re out much of the upfront money — about $60,000 for the Hegels and more than $66,000 for the Tesserises.

The Hegele family was able to stay in their home, but the Tesserises have had to move into a rental they own in Ottawa County.

Target 8 tried to contact Stoltz. His attorney, Tyler Osburn, said his client hasn’t heard from police about the fraud investigation. He denies any wrongdoing.

Osburn said the Tesserises have banned his client from entering the home to collect his tools. Chris Tesseris said he only wants Stoltz to make an appointment before he goes back to the house, but Stoltz has not called to set up a time.

Both couples admit their chances of getting them money back are slim.

“My whole point in doing this is I don’t want this to happen to anybody else.” Teri Tesseris said.

“If people can learn from this case,  there’s a lot of good lesson learned I think in this case,” Paul Hegele said.

East Grand Rapids City Manager Brian Donovan said he will wait for the outcome of the investigation before deciding if Stoltz will remain on the construction appeals board.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — The man convicted of killing two hunters in a state game area in 1990 said he wonders how hard his defense team’s private investigator worked to keep him out of prison.

That private detective, a retired state police polygraph operator, later married the convicted killer’s wife.

“It’s a shocker and then I wonder, was he working for me?” Jeff Titus told Target 8 in a phone interview from prison. “Was he working for an ulterior motive? I don’t know.”

Titus, a former U.S. Marine, was the first suspect identified in the November 1990 murders of Doug Estes and Jim Bennett, hunters whose bodies were found in the Fulton State Game Area south of Kalamazoo, right behind his land. Each was shot in the back, at close range, through their hunting licenses.

The original detectives told Target 8 they cleared Titus after witnesses provided an alibi, saying Titus was hunting that afternoon on their farm 27 miles away. A decade later, the Kalamazoo County cold case team focused again on Titus and he was charged with their murders. A jury convicted him in 2002 of both murders. He is serving life in prison without parole.

>>Target 8: Alibis ignored

Titus’s defense team, led by attorney William Fette, included Howard Swabash, a recently retired Michigan State Police polygraph examiner.

“He was the private investigator hired by Mr. Fette,” Titus said.

Swabash was married at the time, but court records show his wife filed for divorce in January 2002, five weeks after Titus was charged with murder. Transcripts of the divorce hearing obtained by Target 8 show Swabash’s wife claimed her “husband’s unfaithfulness” led to the breakdown of their marriage, though she didn’t identify the other woman.

Target 8 reached out to Swabash’s ex-wife, but she refused to comment.

On Halloween Day 2002 — three months after a jury convicted Titus — Titus’ wife, Julie, visited him at a Saginaw prison with Swabash.

“He came in that day, on Oct. 31, 2002; he came in with Julie and my daughter,” Titus said.

Prison records reviewed by Target 8 confirm Swabash signed in as a visitor at the same time.

Titus said his wife told him during that visit that she was filing for divorce.

Titus’ wife filed for divorce two weeks after that visit, saying they hadn’t “gotten along for years,” court records show.

Records show Swabash and Titus’ ex-wife got married in Florida in April 2005 — less than three years after the conviction.

Retired Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Roy Ballett was one of the original detectives who cleared Titus in 1990. During Titus’ 2002 trial, the defense did not call Ballett or the other original detective as witnesses. They say they would have testified about his alibi.

Ballett said he confronted Swabash at the Kalamazoo County Courthouse not long after Titus’s conviction.

“I asked him why he did not even bother to give me a call to find out what my feeling might have been on this case if he was going to be an investigator to prove Jeff Titus’s innocence,” Ballett said. “He became very vocal and (said) several curse words, to put it gently, and got on the elevator and left.”

The Michigan Innocence Clinic has taken up Titus’s case at the request of the original detectives.

“Our screening system is very rigorous, such that we’ve only taken about 1 percent of the cases that we’ve reviewed so far, and Jeff Titus is one of those,” said David Moran, the clinic’s director.

While the Innocence Clinic is claiming Titus’s attorneys failed him, Swabash’s connection to Titus’s ex-wife is not part of the appeal.

“It’s unusual,” Moran said of the private detective’s connection to Titus’s ex-wife. “It’s obviously very unusual. In these cases we see a lot of things that cause you to raise your eyebrows. That would be one of them.”

Swabash now operates a private polygraph company in the Kalamazoo area. Neither he nor his wife responded to Target 8’s repeated requests for comment.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) -- Vietnam War veteran Larry Palmer is 70. He lives alone in Kentwood and "just wanted a little companion to take care of and be with while I'm going through what rest of life I got."

Palmer talked to dog breeders but found prices were too high. Then he went online and found a website selling pugs. He fell in love with the picture of a pup named Molly.

"(I) actually printed it out and made a little 5-by-7 of it," he told Target 8.

He sent the seller $480. He bought food, toys and a dog bed and was ready to pick up his pup at the airport.

Then he got a call from someone claiming they were the company that was shipping Molly. The caller told Palmer he had to come up with another $977 to pay for flight insurance and a certificate of ownership. He didn't have that kind of money and realized he'd been scammed.

"I never did get the dog," he said. "Never was able to have the dog in my lap."

Palmer was the victim of one of the hottest web scams going around, raking in victims' money and spreading heartbreak in return.

SECOND VICTIM: "IT WAS LIKE RANSOM"

In Angela Kuklewski's case, it was a little fluffball of a teacup Pomeranian that caught her eye.

"She was the smallest one I'd ever seen and she was just so adorable," Kuklewski, of Allendale, said. "And I thought, 'Wow, if I could get one that looked like that.'"

She paid $500 for the little dog, named Vowell. Then, just like in Palmer's case, someone claiming to be the shipper said she needed to send another $1,500 to get the dog out of some sort of quarantine.

"'If you don't pay this amount, we're going to keep her in quarantine for so long and then you won't be able to get her,'" Kuklewski said she was told. "'But if you pay this amount, then we'll be able to get her to you right away.'"

She paid -- but the scammers weren't finished. They wanted two or three thousand bucks more for something else. By the time she realized it was a con, she was out $2,500. She never got the puppy whose picture she fell in love with.

"They keep pushing the limit," she told Target 8. "'We want more money, we want more money.' And it was like a ransom-type thing."

"I just felt like such an idiot when it all fell through," she added.

VICTIMS TRIED TO CHECK WEBSITES

Kuklewski and Palmer are talking publicly about their experiences because they want people to know how easy it is to fall for a puppy scam.

"I just wanted that dog so bad," she said, "I wanted to believe that it was OK."

She said the scammers prey on people's emotions. Palmer agreed.

"My emotions got so attached. That's what did me in," he said.

It's not like they didn't try to protect themselves. Kuklewski asked for more pictures of Vowell, trying to "see if they really have this dog or are these just photographs from something else," she said. When the scammers sent more pictures, she figured the deal was legitimate.

Palmer searched Google for reviews of the website through which he was trying to buy the pug. He didn't find anything bad.

PIRATED PICTURES AND PLAGIARIZED STATEMENTS

According to the Better Business Bureau and other consumer advocates, the puppy scammers don't have any real dogs for sale. They pirate puppy photos from other online locations, then weave the poached pictures with heartwarming stories to draw people in. If they start getting heat, they readily change identities.

Target 8 investigators tracked the website that conned Kuklewski a year ago with the photo of Vowell. It vanished for a while, but recently reappeared. It uses the same photo Kuklewski fell in love with, but now the dog is named Mac. When you click to reveal the photo information, it still lists the name Vowell.

The website Palmer responded to appears to have pirated parts, too. The "about us" details can be found on two other websites supposedly selling other breeds and it appears to have been plucked nearly word-for-word from the website of an actual kennel in Maine.

There are things people can do to avoid being taken in. In both Palmer and Kuklewski's cases, the crooks demanded the victims pay with Western Union money cards.

"I should have known when they wanted me to Western Union the money to them," Kuklewski said. "That was a red flag, a huge red flag."

The BBB said you shouldn’t pay that way. The crooks want victims to buy prepaid cards and then give them the numbers so they can collect the cash pretty much anywhere without being traced. It's like handing cash to a stranger.

Consumer advocates say the best way to avoid being scammed is to go see the pup for sale before you hand over your money.

TARGET 8 TRACKS "MOLLY" TO VACANT LOT

Target 8 called the website that conned Palmer and asked about Molly, the pug he wanted to buy. The man on the phone said Molly was still available for $500. When asked, he said we could come by and see her. He gave the address as 16 Line Drive in Crisfield, Maryland, a small fishing village on the Chesapeake Bay.

Target 8 mapped that location and checked with neighbors and the local police. The address is a vacant lot.

A Crisfield police detective told Target 8 that his department has received complaints from all over the country about the puppy scam that claims to be located in the small town. The detective doubts the scammers are actually there.

They could be running the con from anywhere. Target 8 tracked the website as far as a company in Panama that people can use to hide their real locations.

In another call to the website that ripped off Palmer, Target 8 investigator Henry Erb left a message identifying himself and seeking comment, but never got a response.

"RUTHLESS"

Checking in person actually worked for Kuklewski. She started the search for another dog online, but had her mother-in-law actually visit the kennel in Tennessee to get the dog on her way back home from a trip to Florida.

She did get another dog in an online deal, but only after conducting an in-depth check on the seller. Still, she says her experience a year ago was scary.

"You just can't believe anyone anymore it seems like," she said.

"It angers me that people do these kind of things to normal, hard-working people," Palmer said.

"These people are ruthless," Kuklewski said. "They don't care."

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Three days before Christmas 2016, Mikelle Besemer opened the door of the apartment she shared with her mother to find her brother and two police officers. They were there to tell her that her mother, 62-year-old Judy Besemer, had been killed in a car crash.

Michigan State Police say James Williams was driving east on Knapp Street NE in northeast Grand Rapids when he ran a red light at the East Beltline and plowed into Besemer’s northbound SUV. Besemer was less than a quarter-mile from home.

She was rushed to the hospital, where she died. She left behind two children and seven grandchildren.

Williams, 50, of northeast Kent County, is now charged with driving drunk causing death. Michigan's sentencing guidelines suggest he be sentenced to 19 to 39 months in prison -- though a judge could go above that.

“He has to live with himself,” Mikelle Besemer said. “Well, guess what — at least he gets to live.”

She says something should have been done to keep him off the road. He has two prior drunk driving convictions and he didn't have a license at the time of the crash.

"In some way, in some form, this could have and should have been prevented, especially with his record," she said.

UNDERSHERIFF: LOOPHOLE DIDN'T CAUSE DEADLY CRASH

Williams was convicted of drunk driving in 1989 and again in 1995. It's possible he could have had another one of those convictions on his record if not for a loophole that Target 8 noticed while combing through police reports.

According to a police report on a February 2010 incident, which Target 8 obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, deputies spotted Williams driving up to a gas station and ultimately gave him a breathalyzer test that registered a blood alcohol content (BAC) level more than three times the legal driving limit.

But the sheriff’s department never requested a warrant for Williams’ arrest because the deputy didn't create a new report on the DUI, instead adding it to a report on a domestic incident that occurred earlier in the day between Williams and his then-wife.

"There was a follow-up that happened because he called for service again on the domestic, and we were on our way to his house when we came across him at a local business," Kent County Undersheriff Michelle Young explained.

The deputies reported that they had stopped at a gas station when Williams showed up to buy cigarettes, smelling of alcohol and carrying a vodka-filled coffee mug. According the police report, Williams agreed to a PBT -- a breathalyzer test -- at the gas station and blew a .25, which was later confirmed by a blood test at the hospital.

Deputies had called an ambulance for Williams because he was complaining of chest pains connected to the earlier domestic incident.

Since 2010, the sheriff's office has changed some procedures to close the gap.

"This incident actually happened seven years ago," Young said. "As we started to update our records management systems, we did a very in-depth study of work flow and we found that in circumstances where there were multiple cases that were really handled in conjunction with each other there was potential for gaps. So we ended up putting alerts in our records management system with some cues in place that would prevent that from happening again."

Additionally, officers now file separate reports for each incident instead of lumping them together in one report.

Young doesn’t think charging Williams in 2010 would have prevented the deadly crash in 2016.

"Any consequences for that charge seven years ago would have been already served," she said. "He would have likely been in the exact same time and place that he was at the time this accident happened. Although that’s unfortunate, it would not have been prevented by a charged seven years prior."

POLICE REPORT: WILLIAMS ROLLED CAR IN EARLY 2016

In addition to the 2010 case, Williams was involved in a potentially alcohol-related driving incident in March 2016, less than a year before the crash that took Judy Besemer’s life.

Williams told police he had rolled his car near Grand River Drive and 5 Mile Road but walked to his home before calling 911. The responding officer said he found Williams at his home and that he had a "strong odor of intoxicants," "slurred" speech and was "not understandable at times." When the officer checked Williams’ crashed vehicle, he reported that it "smelled strongly of alcohol" and there was an "empty aluminum pint" inside it.

But Williams refused a PBT, blamed the crash on multiple deer jumping in front of his car and claimed he hadn't started drinking until after he arrived home.

He was ultimately ticketed for violating a restricted license because he wasn't supposed to drive unless it was to work or substance abuse counseling.

The court file showed that the Kent County prosecutor recommended no jail time, but reserved the right to add an "open intox" charge if Williams took the case to trial.

As for the 1989 and 1995 DUI convictions, records show Williams served about two weeks in jail for the two convictions combined. He also lost his license for a time, but was later allowed to drive to and from work and substance abuse counseling.

At the time of the crash that killed Judy Besemer, Williams' license was both expired and revoked.

MADD: WILLIAMS "A TRAGEDY IN THE MAKING"

Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which ranks Michigan’s drunk driving laws 49th in the nation, described Williams as a "tragedy in the making."

The anti-drunk driving advocacy group also told Target 8 that Williams’ history is evidence that the state needs to change its approach.

Doug Scoles, state executive director for MADD’s Ohio office, reviewed Williams’ driving history and the sanctions levied against him at the request of Target 8.

"I must say (Williams’ case) falls clearly into the 'frustration' category at many levels," Scoles wrote in an email to Target 8. "Over the course of 25 plus years, Williams was treated by all appearances with very light sanctioning. … He was given fines, some jail time, offenses were pled down, and no real action to correct and prevent his behavior was ever taken."

MADD is pushing states to adopt a law allowing for "all-offender ignition interlocks," meaning first-time offenders would get interlocks installed on their vehicles. Those devices prevent the car from starting if the driver has too much alcohol on their breath.

MADD uses a five-star rating system to determine which states have the strongest anti-drunk driving laws. Michigan got one star. That ranking is based in part on the state not having all-offender ignition interlock rules in place.

Twenty-eight states have passed such laws, including Ohio, which recently passed "Annie’s Law."

>>PDF: MADD "Report to Nation"

"From the start, if (Williams) had received an ignition interlock on his vehicle, his driving behavior (and sobriety) would have been recorded and documented in real time and would have provided additional tools for the court to see what was 'really going on' with him," Scoles wrote. "It's safe to say conservatively speaking that having an ignition interlock would have gone a long way to prevent his drunk driving behavior."

A five-year study on ignition interlocks, based on data from multiple sobriety courts including that of Grand Rapids' 61st District, produced promising results.

"Based on analysis of data from five years of this project, the ignition interlock program has been generally successful," wrote one of the report’s authors. "It appears that ignition interlocks represent an evidence based method of reducing recidivism (particularly DWI recidivism), among repeat drunk drivers in the state of Michigan."

>>PDF: Michigan DWI/Sobriety Court Ignition Interlock Evaluation

ALL-OFFENDER INTERLOCK BILL IN MICHIGAN

There is a bill before the Michigan legislature, House Bill 4078, that would allow for all-offender interlocks.

A spokesman for the Michigan’s Secretary of State’s Office told Target 8 the office "doesn’t support" that bill, "but is open to discussing how ignition interlock devices can best be used."

"As drafted the bill would drastically increase the resources needed to effectively oversee the (interlock) program without accommodating for that increased workload. The bill is far from revenue neutral," Fred Woodhams, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State, wrote in an email.

Woodhams also pointed out the use of ignition interlocks has already increased dramatically under current laws. In 2009, Michigan had 3,800 interlocks installed, compared to 10,186 in 2015.

Additionally, Woodhams noted that the Secretary of State’s office successfully lobbied the legislature to set basic standards and regulations for interlock installers and manufacturers.

A spokesperson for Michigan State Police told Target 8 that while the agency has not reviewed House Bill 4078, it is “supportive of the concept generally.”

"The MSP has remained engaged in enforcement of impaired driving both on regular patrol and as part of statewide drunk driving crackdowns that are organized through the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning,” spokesperson Shanon Banner wrote in an email to Target 8. "We share MADD’s goals in reducing impaired driving and we consider ourselves to be partners with them in this effort."

Banner went on to list several laws that Michigan already has in place which are “generally considered effective," including:

• Increased penalties for cases involving a high BAC (Michigan's "super drunk" law).
• Ignition interlocks are mandatory for high-BAC convictions, as are restricted driving conditions.
• Open container laws.
• Increased penalties for child endangerment.

HB 4078 was introduced in January and is currently before the House Judiciary Committee.

JUDGE: WE'RE NOT DOING A GOOD JOB

A West Michigan judge has another idea to cut down on drunk driving crashes. He wants lawmakers to increase jail sentences for drunk drivers, even first-time offenders.

"We don’t have any minimum requirements … for a first-time drunk driver," said Mike Schipper, a district court judge in Barry County. "You can get a first-time drunk driving and get absolutely nothing. No probation. No jail. I could give you a minor fine and there could be nothing. That’s not right."

Schipper wants to see the state legislature up the maximum jail time for first-time offenders from the current 93 days to up to one year. He explained that first-time offenders wouldn't actually spend a year in jail, but said judges could use the additional time to monitor offenders' probation and keep tabs on their progress in substance abuse counseling.

The judge compared Michigan’s penalties for a first-time drunk driving offense to those for possession of marijuana.

"I’m not a marijuana fan at all, but if you get caught with marijuana, a teeny bit in your pocket, you could get one year," he said. "But if you drive drunk, which could kill somebody, the most you could get is 93 days. That’s wrong. That needs to be change."

Schipper told Target 8 that the abuse of alcohol is the biggest problem impacting the defendants he sees in his Hastings courtroom.

ALLEGAN, Mich. (WOOD) — A former nurse under investigation in the homicide of a 4-year-old with medical disabilities has admitted stealing the medicine that was meant to keep him alive, according to records obtained Thursday by Target 8.

Kristie Mollohan, 40, of Kalamazoo, also admitted to using the drug.

Records obtained from the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs lay out the case against the former licensed practical nurse (LPN), who has not been charged in the death. The state report shows she admitted stealing liquid Valium from three children who needed it to control seizures and describes how the theft led to the death of 4-year-old Ryley Maue, who suffered from cerebral palsy, in August 2016.

The state’s investigation led the Board of Nursing Disciplinary Subcommittee to suspend Mollohan’s LPN license in January.

Mollohan started working for Wyoming-based Lakeshore Home Health Care Services in May 2015 as a home care nurse. She was assigned to work for three children in two homes, all of whom had been prescribed liquid Valium for seizures. One was the Allegan home of Ryley and his big brother, Kenny, who also has cerebral palsy. Their mom, Toni Ward, told 24 Hour News 8 that  Mollohan worked at her home for about six weeks, on shift overnight several times per week.

In August, another Lakeshore nurse reported her suspicion that someone had tampered with the liquid Valium bottles for Ryley and his brother. Records show a pharmacist confirmed they had had been diluted.

A few days later, the father of another patient called Lakeshore to report that someone had tampered with liquid Valium. Records don’t identify that victim, who survived. Police say that theft happened in Barry County.

Lakeshore ordered all of its nurses to provide urine samples for drug screens. Records show Mollohan was the only nurse to test positive for the drug.

On Aug. 23, Lakeshore interviewed Mollohan, who admitted stealing liquid Valium from all three for her own use and “replacing the stolen liquid diazepam (Valium) with water.” Lakeshore immediately fired her and reported it to the state, records show.

Three days later, on Aug. 26, Ryley died of a seizure — a death later ruled a homicide.

The medical examiner determined that Ryley’s medication had less than 10 percent of the prescribed concentration.

Before August, the report said, Ryley’s condition had stabilized.

Prosecutors in Allegan and Barry counties said they’re still investigating the cases and haven’t decided on charges.

Mollohan, who has no criminal record, has not responded to Target 8’s requests for comment.

SPRINGFIELD, Mich. (WOOD) — There were concerns about a girl’s safety before she died from carbon monoxide poisoning in metro Battle Creek last week, Target 8 found.

The 11-year-old girl and two adults were found unresponsive in a building on W. Michigan Avenue in Springfield on Thursday night. The girl, whose name has not been released, died early Friday morning.

Children’s Protective Services previously received complaints about the safety of the girl’s housing, Target 8 learned. At least one of the tipsters was concerned about the way the family was heating their home.

The carbon monoxide poisoning was apparently caused by a gas-powered generator being used to heat the building where they had been living, which according to a sign outside is an old upholstery shop.

The state Office of Children’s Ombudsman, a CPS watchdog, will investigate whether CPS could have done more to keep the girl safe.

The adults — a 44-year-old man and his 41-year-old girlfriend — remained in the hospital Monday.

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Online:

Carbon Monoxide Safety Tips

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A West Michigan woman got a special delivery over the weekend thanks to Target 8 and Samsung.

“Lowe’s is here to bring me my new washer and it’s not Samsung,” declared Natalie Cavagnetto, a single mom and fitness instructor who needs a dependable washing machine.

Target 8 was there when Lowe’s delivered Cavegnetto’s new washing machine, which she bought with the refund she received from Samsung.

Cavagnetto got Target 8 on Samsung’s case when she said the South Korean giant had hired DISH Network to do the repairs on recalled washing machines.

Samsung recalled 2.8 million top-loading washers in November because the vibrations were so violent the lids could detach and fly off. Samsung says it received 733 reports of top-load machines experiencing excessive vibration or the top detaching from the chassis. There were nine reports of injuries nationwide, including a broken jaw, injured shoulder and other impact or fall-related injuries.

Cavagnetto told Target 8 that the DISH technicians who reinforced her washer’s lid accidentally drilled through wires as well, causing more problems. When she told Samsung she had changed her mind and wanted the rebate instead of the repair, she was told no. But when Target 8 called Samsung, the company contacted Cavagnetto.

“They said, ‘What would you like us to do?'” Cavagnetto said. “And I said, ‘Well, I’d like a full refund,’ and they said ‘OK.’ They didn’t even have to put me on hold or anything. She just said, ‘OK.'”

That level of service in response to the “exploding lid” recall has not been the norm, according to a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in West Michigan. The suit was filed on behalf of a woman in the Upper Peninsula by attorney Craig E. Hilborn of Hilborn and Hilborn PC out of Birmingham, Michigan.

“Amazingly, despite Samsung’s extensive experience with recalling products, Samsung is making life as difficult as possible for consumers,” the suit reads in part.

Among the suit’s allegations was that the rebate offered by Samsung doesn’t cover a fraction of the cost of a replacement. The suit also claims that Samsung is not using “individuals qualified to repair or evaluate” machines.

“They’re a DISH company, come on,” said Andrea Baird, another Samsung customer who was less than impressed with DISH’s fix. “They didn’t know what they were doing.”

The Saranac woman reached out to Target 8 after seeing the initial report in early February. She told Target 8 that the DISH technician who reinforced her lid accidentally cracked her washer’s back panel. She also said that after the DISH repair, the washer would only run hot water.

“I just wish they’d give me a new washing machine that worked right,” Baird said. “And that I would have to deal with the runaround I’ve dealt with.”

Target 8 reached out to Samsung about Baird’s situation as well. Minutes before her story aired on Monday, Baird texted Target 8 to say that Samsung had reached out to her offering a refund.

Both Samsung and DISH Network have responded promptly to Target 8’s calls regarding problems with recall repairs.

“I’m really excited this worked out,” Natalie Cavagnetto said.

She used the refund she received from Samsung to buy a new LG washing machine. This time, she bought the extended warranty, just to be extra careful.

Samsung provided this statement:

“Our priority is to reduce any safety risks in the home. We are aware of Ms. Baird’s experience and have reached out to her to apologize and offer support. We are also working with our authorized service partners to better understand her unique experience. Our nationwide network of service providers are trained to perform the repair, and allow us to reach consumers as quickly as possible after a repair is schedule. A list of our major authorized service partners can be found on our website at Samsung.com/us/TLW, and before any in-home visit, we inform consumers which service partner will be performing their repair. We strongly encourage anyone with questions about a recalled machine or authorized service visit to contact us at 1-866-264-5636.”

DISH provided this statement:

“DISH is serving with Samsung as an authorized repair partner, providing convenient, in-home washing machine repair for impacted customers nationwide. We are working with Samsung to understand what happened in this instance as quickly as possible.

“As an authorized repair partner, we’ve worked with Samsung to develop training for DISH technicians, which includes hands-on experience that equips our technicians to reinforce each machine with repair parts provided by Samsung.

“With highly-skilled technicians capable of reaching any home in the U.S. on any given day, DISH’s flexible workforce was well-positioned to quickly respond to Samsung’s needs. Over the years, we’ve gradually expanded the capabilities of our trusted technicians. Today, we assist DISH and non-DISH customers with the nuts and bolts of TV, audio and in-home wireless networks installation, as well as smartphone repair.” 

LANSING, Mich. (WOOD) — A series of mistakes by Michigan State Police landed the wrong man in jail for child pornography. But while an assistant attorney general on Tuesday admitted police were wrong, he said they were innocent mistakes.

Billy Dean Rowe, a married father of four without a criminal record, was in jail for three days before police realized their mistake. Rowe, of Homer in Calhoun County, is now suing the state. On Tuesday, lawyers on both sides argued before the state Court of Appeals whether the troopers involved in the case were protected by governmental immunity.

“The facts are not in dispute. The wrong individual was identified,” Assistant Attorney General Dana Wood told the court. “It was a mistake, but it was an honest and reasonable mistake. It was not careless or malicious in any way. He (an MSP trooper) had no intent to identify the wrong person in his report.”

The attorney for the wrongfully accused Rowe said the mistakes led police to arrest him at his Calhoun County home in March 2011 in front of his wife.

“Being told that your husband is being charged with child pornography and he’s taken away and she doesn’t see him again for four days,” Rowe’s attorney, Kenneth McIntyre, said.

The case actually started in March 2005 when MSP Trooper Dennis Milburn questioned Billy Joe Rowe about child porn found on his computer near Flint. But the trooper’s original report misidentified the suspect as Billy Dean Rowe, who has a different middle name, is nine years older, lived 120 miles away and has a vastly different build.

“The man’s got no record,” McIntyre said after the hearing. “He’d never been to Flint, ever.”

It wasn’t until 2011 that state police pursued the case, just before the statute of limitations ran out. MSP Detective Sgt. Ronald Ainslie arrested the wrong Rowe using the original mistaken report.

After the wrong Rowe spent three days at the Calhoun County Jail, a trooper drove him 110 miles to Flint, where he was locked in a holding cell until the mistake was caught. By that time, the statute of limitations had expired and the real suspect was never charged.

Rowe’s attorney called it sloppy police work.

“Sloppy is generous,” he added. “They were wantonly indifferent to that which was there to be seen.”

The Court of Appeals isn’t expected to issue a ruling for at least a month.

MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — The state has suspended the dealer’s license of Arizona Charlie’s Auto and Truck Sales in Muskegon.

According to Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, several customers complained that Arizona Charlie’s, located at 4295 E. Apple Ave., did not seek titles and registration within 15 days of vehicle delivery as required by law. When an investigator from the Secretary of State’s Office visited Arizona Charlie’s, the state says, the dealer could not provide paperwork for several vehicles that had been sold.

The state served the dealer with a suspension on March 7. The dealer surrendered his license at that time.

“Laws requiring detailed record keeping protect against the sale of stolen vehicles and parts, and ensure the vehicle buyer receives a clear and valid title to prove ownership,” a news release from the Secretary of State’s Office read in part.

The latest disciplinary action is more evidence of the state’s crackdown on auto dealers and repair shops that don’t follow rules designed to protect customers.

If you think you’ve been wronged in an auto deal or repair, the Secretary of State urges you to call the Office of Investigative Services at 517.335.1410.

Target 8 exposed problem repair shops in March 2016, sitting down with the man hired to head up the SOS’s new Office of Investigative Services.

Since 2015, the state says it has issued 43 summary suspensions and 41 cease and desist orders, proceeded to an administrative hearing to revoke nine license and had 66 licensees surrender their license in lieu of pending administrative action.

Prior to 2015, the SOS did not issue cease and desist orders and rarely suspended the license of dealers or repair shops.

WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — Police say the Wyoming landlady accused of taking advantage of desperate renters has struck again.

Monday morning in Wyoming District Court, 40-year-old Angela Arvizu was charged with false pretenses.

She is the landlady who in October 2016 pleaded guilty after taking background check fees from two would-be renters without any intent of ever leasing to them.

This time, according to a Wyoming Public Safety report obtained by Target 8, Arvizu is accused of taking a $600 deposit from a woman who had to wait for her disability check before she could pay Arvizu. The alleged victim told police that after she forked over the $600, rented a truck and packed her stuff, Arvizu texted her at the last minute — on the day of the move — to tell her the basement apartment wasn’t ready yet.

Arvizu allegedly showed the would-be renter another house, but when the woman showed up there, she found tenants still living there.

“It is quite apparent that Angela was stringing (the victim) along and more than likely had no intention of ever renting to her,” an officer wrote in the police report.

At one point when the victim was having trouble reaching Arvizu, someone called her to say Arvizu was in critical condition in the hospital.

“The (victim) said the next thing she knew Arvizu was back healthy,” wrote the officer.

Police say Arvizu told the victim at one point that she had leukemia and the blood transfusions restricted the times she could meet. Police noted that Arvizu’s probation officer was not aware of her having leukemia.

More charges could be forthcoming because police are also investigating Arvizu for allegedly stealing from her elderly neighbor.

“(Arvizu) is suspected in stealing numerous credit cards from her 90 year old neighbor and making fraudulent charges totaling thousands of dollars along with writing numerous checks from her checking count (sic) without her permission,” wrote the officer.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital doctor has been placed on administrative leave due to alleged irregular billing practices.

An investigation is underway into Dr. Stephen Bloom, one of the hospital’s medical directors. Mary Free Bed CEO Kent Riddle informed employees on Wednesday that “irregular billing practices” by Bloom were discovered.

The hospital is required by state and federal law to report that the so-called irregularities occurred.

Bloom is a popular, highly regarded, triple-certified doctor at the hospital who has been recognized at the state and national level for his work in brain injury. He is the medical director of the Wounded Warrior Brain Injury program.

The University of Michigan and Michigan State University graduate has been with Mary Free Bed since 1994 and has appeared many times on 24 Hour News 8 — most recently last year as he helped in the rehabilitation of a heavy metal drummer injured in a tour bus crash.

A spokesperson for Mary Free Bed declined to appear on camera Wednesday, but said the situation with Bloom will not affect patient care, and that the hospital is trusting the judicial process and fully cooperating with authorities.

The hospital did say that the irregularities involved Medicaid and/or Medicare services.

Little about the alleged irregular billing practices is currently known, including whether Bloom himself or someone at his office is thought to be at fault. The Medicaid billing process if complex and it is entirely possible that there was no criminal intent is involved.

Because the case involves Medicaid/Medicare, agencies including the Michigan Attorney General, the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI could be involved. 24 Hour News 8 contacted all of those agencies, but none of them will comment on ongoing investigations or even confirm that investigations are taking place.

Investigators say that when and if anything comes of the probe, they will let us know.

Michigan has been cracking down on Medicaid financing in the wake of a report that showed that Michigan was among the 10 states with the most overpayments, according to the Center for Medicare Integrity.

In 2014, the group said Michigan had nearly $63 million in overpayments — nearly $50 per Medicaid recipient. In 2015, that number was down to $10.6 million or $8.40 per recipient, putting Michigan at number 24 among all the states.

Wednesday, 24 Hour News 8 reached out to Bloom at his home since he is not currently practicing and received a letter from his attorney, but no statement.

WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — A Wyoming landlady already twice accused of taking prospective tenants’ money even though she didn’t intend to rent to them now faces additional charges.

According to court records, Angela Arvizu, 40, is facing new charges of larceny by false pretenses between $200-$1,000 for a crime that police said occurred on March 6 in Wyoming. If convicted, she could be sentenced to one year in jail.

Arvizu was arrested on Sunday but posted a $5,000 cash or surety bond that same day and was released. She is expected to be arraigned on the new charges sometime in March.

Police previously said they were investigating accusations that Arvizu had stolen credit cards from her 90-year-old neighbor, but it’s not yet clear if that has anything to do with the new charges.

Arvizu pleaded guilty last year after taking background check fees from two would-be renters without any intent of ever leasing to them. She’s still on probation for that case.

Last week, she was charged again after similar allegations. In that case, she allegedly took a $600 deposit from a woman who had to wait for her disability check to send the payment. The alleged victim told police that just before she was set to move, Arvizu sent a text saying the apartment she had paid for wasn’t ready. The alleged victim also said that a second rental Arvizu offered her already had tenants.

WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — They are programs that are proven to work: special courts for veterans whose scars from their service lead to legal troubles at home.

But limited state funding has forced these courts to turn to charity to keep their doors open.

“Our motto is leave no veteran behind, and we mean it,” said Wyoming District Court Judge Pablo Cortes.

He said the courts only work with veterans who have a service-related injury or condition that leads to criminal issues.

“That’s who we take. Then we try to put them on the right path and get them well again,” Cortes explained.

‘VETERANS HAVE EARNED THEIR OWN COURT’

Unlike normal court, veterans in the program undergo intensive probation. There are a lot of court appearances where the veteran talks through their ups and downs with the judge and other participants in the program. At times, it feels like a group therapy session in the courtroom. Participants have mandatory counseling sessions and are drug or alcohol tested twice a week.

Veterans who complete the program come out healthier and are much less likely to reoffend. The charges against them may also be reduced or even dismissed, depending on the case.

“I sincerely believe that veterans have earned their own court, because of the service to their country and the consequences their service has had on them,” said Cortes.

When 24 Hour News 8 followed Kent County veterans going through the court last summer, it was in the process of applying for another grant from the State Court Administrative Office in Lansing. The state had $750,000 to distribute among 23 courts in November. The Wyoming court asked for $177,000 but received $44,000.

“It’s not that the state was not trying to give us money, but they only had so much money in the pot and they had to split it up among different courts, so we got what we got. But it just wasn’t enough,” said Cortes.

SURVIVING OFF DONATIONS

The funding problem is taking its toll. Cortes said the program started with 13 Kent County veterans and now serves far fewer.

“As people graduated and as our funding issues cropped up, we weren’t sure we would have money, so we stopped accepting people. We got down to about six (veterans).”

With more competition among courts across the state, Wyoming and other veteran’s treatment courts have been forced to turn to donors to keep operating.

“We decided that we needed to step up for such a good cause and we unanimously voted to donate $12,000 to the court,” said Mark Moyer, commander of American Legion Post 311 in Grand Rapids.

His group is one of many that have donated to the Friends of Kent County Veteran’s Treatment Court. The group is a nonprofit organization established to help bridge the funding gap.

“This is something that I think that society owes a veteran who is struggling with legal issues that are basically part of the service that he offered to his country,” said Dan Ophoff, a trustee with the group. “What we need to do is build up the infrastructure that will allow the court to provide to every veteran that needs it.”

Judge Cortes says donations have allowed them to bring in three more veterans so far. He would like to expand to 30, but that will depending on funding.

“Except for our program director, no one else draws a salary from us. So it’s not HR costs so much, it’s just the infrastructure,” said Cortes.

A lot of the staff donates their time and the City of Wyoming donates the use of the court space. But there are still significant costs. The veterans often need help with transportation, counseling sessions and drug tests.

“You have 15 to 30 guys, each testing twice a week. That’s a lot of drug tests,” Cortes explained.

A LONG-TERM SOLUTION?

“I think, while they are expensive, we should all be reminding the legislature that they are doing a smart thing by investing in these treatment courts,” said Michigan Supreme Court Justice Bridget Mary McCormack. “They get a good return on their investment. The folks who make it through these treatment courts, again, not just the veterans treatment courts but all of our sobriety courts, are two or three times less likely to reoffend.”

McCormack is a big supporter of veteran’s treatment courts.

“We feel like we have a moral duty to provide these veterans the services they need.”

But she admits funding can be difficult.

“How we make sure we can not only continue to serve the 25 veterans treatment courts we have around the state, but even grow that number so that we really can be confident that any veteran who needs this kind of program is able to get it in our courts, is something we think a lot about,” said McCormack.

Many courts are partnering with local groups and nonprofits to sustain and expand services to veterans. The question now is if operating on charity is a long-term solution.

“I think that there’s a comradery between veterans, esprit de corps, and when they see a chance to help other veterans they give until it hurts,” said Cortes. “As long as there’s veterans out there, I think we are sustainable”.

But Ophoff and others are worried.

“I know the American Legion and the folks in Kent County are making sure that legislators know that this is something that is an important part of what we think we owe veterans,” he said.

In order to avoid ethical conflicts, the court itself cannot accept donations. Those wishing to donate should send their donation to:

The Friends of Kent County Veterans Treatment Court (FKCVTC), c/o Dan Ophoff
P.O. Box 3500
Grand Rapids, MI 49501

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Grand Rapids DTE gas customer got a surprise in the mail earlier this month when the energy company told her she was owed $2,415.63.

The credit came after DTE Energy realized a meter recently removed from Jennifer Peter’s home was not accurately measuring gas use. Officials said it was reading 2 percent fast.

DTE said the meter hadn’t been tested in many years, so company policy required that Peter be credited as if it had been reporting inaccurately for half of its life. In this case, DTE says the meter was 35 years old, which meant the 2 percent error was credited for 17 years and six months.

Peter got a letter from DTE on March 13 informing her of the situation.

“As part of our commitment to provide you with the highest-quality of service and equipment, DTE Energy routinely tests natural gas meters for accuracy. If the average percentage of accuracy is 102 percent or higher a billing adjustment is made for the over-registration,” it read in part. “The meter located at the address above, was recently tested. Our results indicated that you are eligible for an adjustment. As a result, $2415.63 has been credited to your account…”

“How could this happen? How could they get so far in debt to me?” Peter wondered in a Wednesday interview with Target 8. “We do love our gas, but I don’t want to overpay for it and I don’t want to feel cheated.”

When she called a phone number for DTE listed on the letter, she got a recorded message and voicemail. Peter was concerned because she wanted the money refunded to her in a check and not in a credit on her bill.

After Target 8 contacted DTE, a representative reached out to Peter and promised to get her a refund check.

A DTE spokesperson said Peter’s meter was tested and reporting accurately when it was installed, but there’s no way of knowing when it started malfunctioning.

“Every meter gets tested on a regular basis,” DTE spokesperson Jill Wilmot told 24 Hour News 8 over the phone. “We’re proactively out there testing the meters on a regular basis.”

The state of Michigan requires energy companies to periodically test their meters to ensure customers are being billed properly. Wilmot says DTE exchanges and tests some 40,000 meters each year.

Wilmot says only a half percent of some 1.3 million gas customers get refunds or credits and it is exceedingly rare that they’re as large as the one being issued in this case.

Peter said she still has concerns.

“I am concerned about the other people. That’s a lot of money to be holding from people in Michigan … but we’re not known to be wealthy right now,” Peter said.

DTE says customers concerned about their meters can contact the company to have the meters tested. DTE also suggests customers with meters inside their homes respond to inquiries from the energy company requesting access to test the meters.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Grand Rapids hospital that disconnected a patient's heart monitor before he flatlined will pay the man’s family $750,000.

The judgment against Mercy Health Saint Mary’s comes nearly three years after the heart attack that killed Peter Winkle, 72.

"(It was) just unbelievable," his wife Renee Winkle said of the night her husband's heart stopped beating. "It went from a bladder infection to cardiac arrest within hours."

BLADDER INFECTION PROMPTED TRIP TO CLINIC

Peter Winkle, an ordained minister who worked as a hospice chaplain, stopped into Saint Mary’s southwest campus in Byron Center the evening of May 10, 2014. He felt a bladder infection coming on and wanted to take care of it before a planned trip to Arizona.

But when a nurse checked Winkle’s vital signs at the clinic on 64th Street, she found a fast heart rate, rapid breathing rate and elevated blood pressure. In a deposition for the lawsuit, a nurse at the southwest campus reported that Winkle also complained about his chest.

"His words were, 'My chest feels heavy. It feels tight,'" registered nurse Gabriella Mascari recalled in response to questioning by Renee Winkle's attorney.

After additional testing, Dr. Ann Knapp, who was on duty at Saint Mary’s southwest campus that night, diagnosed Winkle with sepsis, a potentially dangerous condition that develops when the body is fighting infection.

The doctor ordered Winkle taken by ambulance with continuous heart monitoring to Saint Mary’s downtown campus.

RECEIVING NURSE DETACHED HEART MONITOR

But once downtown, an admitting nurse disconnected Winkle’s heart monitor.

"The failure in this case is the nurse is not supposed to detach a patient from continuous heart monitoring without a physician or a physician assistant order," said Rob Buchanan, the medical malpractice attorney who represented Winkle’s estate. "And she did it, and didn’t tell them. And they didn't put it back on him."

ALONE AND UNMONITORED, PATIENT FLATLINES

It's not clear how long Peter Winkle lay alone in his room after his heart stopped beating.

Saint Mary's said it was no longer than five minutes, but the family's attorney thinks it was more like 30.

"He's in his room, unobserved, (the nurse) comes back after probably a half hour and finds him in cardiac arrest," Buchanan said.

Hospital staff were able to resuscitate Winkle, though it took at least five shocks to do so. But Winkle never regained consciousness, and he died 10 days later.

FAMILY'S ATTORNEY: HEART MONITOR COULD HAVE SAVED LIFE

"Had he been on continuous heart monitoring, they would have seen it from a (monitoring) station," Buchanan said. "Alarms would be going off, and they'd run in and they'd have been able to resuscitate him. Or, actually, they'd see an abnormal rhythm before he went into cardiac arrest so they would have prevented any cardiac arrest at all if he had been on the monitor he was supposed to be."

The internal medicine physician who was on duty at the downtown campus, Dr. Bilal Ali, did not order continued heart monitoring for Winkle once he arrived. In the lawsuit, Saint Mary's argued that Winkle's symptoms, even though he had a history of cardiac problems, did not justify continuous cardiac monitoring.

"In this case, the physician at the emergency facility (in Byron Center) had not identified chest tightness," the hospital's expert, Dr. Lawrence Warbasse, wrote in an affidavit. "Additionally, no such tightness, nor any other signs of an ongoing cardiac event, were present upon arrival at Saint Mary's."

But the Winkle family's attorney said Ali had a conversation with the southwest campus doctor prior to Winkle's transport and agreed to admit him downtown to a bed with continual heart monitoring.

"The plan was to keep him in a bed that was monitored at all times, and (Ali) just didn’t follow through with what he was supposed to do," Buchanan said.

Ali, in his deposition, said he didn't know that Winkle was ever on a monitor.

HOSPITAL: DOCTOR AND NURSE MET 'STANDARD OF CARE'

In its response to the lawsuit, Saint Mary's said all of its providers met the standard of care in Winkle's case.

In a statement to Target 8, Trinity Health, which owns Mercy Health Saint Mary's, did not address the allegation that mistakes were made in Winkle's care.

"We settled this matter prior to a trial to avoid high litigation and time costs, and to ensure our resources and energies remained focused on fulfilling our Mission in the community. With this settlement, the situation comes to an end only in the court system. As the loss will continue to be felt by the Winkle family, our thoughts and prayers remain with them," the statement reads.

Trinity Health did not respond to Target 8's questions regarding the employment status of Ali or the nurse who disconnected the heart monitor when Winkle arrived downtown. Target 8 determined, however, that Ali relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, and is practicing there.

IMPORTANT TO ADVOCATE FOR YOUR OWN CARE

Buchanan said that the care Winkle received is evidence of a systemic problem facing hospitals.

"This is an example of care that was provided over the weekend," he said. "This happened on a Saturday, and I think you see a lot of medical malpractice occur on weekends and holidays… You have the second-string people in there taking care of patients, so that’s when you see errors occur."

He urged patients to be advocates for their own care.

"Make sure you’re speaking up," he advised. "If you have questions, speak up. Don’t just take for granted that they’re going to do the right thing or look out for your best interest. They get busy. They get distracted. They make errors. So as a patient, it's important to be your own advocate."

Renee Winkle said she sometimes asks herself, "Why didn’t I go with him that night?"

"I remembering thinking, 'It's just a bladder infection and he's in good hands,'" she said. "'He's at the hospital. What better hands could he be in?'"

'YOU RAISE GRACE FROM HEAVEN'

Winkle ministered to all kinds of people throughout his life, including the homeless community in downtown Grand Rapids' Heartside neighborhood.

"I think the community is a much better place because of Peter," said Renee Winkle, his wife of 10 years. "He touched so many lives and especially those lives that needed to be touched."

But the 72-year-old's most cherished role was that of husband to Renee Winkle, 28 years his junior, and father to their daughter, Grace, who was 9 when her dad died.

"Peter had so many strengths, but one of them was just being a great father," Renee Winkle said. "Watching him be a parent just taught me how to be patient and kind and loving and he was just so gentle with her."

As the end neared, she held her husband in her arms.

"I said to him, 'You know, Peter, you raise Grace from Heaven and I'll raise her from Earth. But we'll continue to raise Grace together.'"

RESOURCES

PDF: Is there a 'weekend' effect in major trauma?

PDF: Preventable morbidity at a mature trauma center

PDF: Quality of care and mortality: Do hospitals provide lower quality care on weekends?

PDF: Survival from in-hospital cardiac arrest during nights and weekends

PDF: Incidents of "never events" among weekend admissions versus weekday admissions to US hospitals: national analysis

Online: Why being hospitalized on a weekend costs more lives, health care dollars

ALLEGAN, Mich. (WOOD) — Seven months after an LPN admitted to stealing medication from children for her own use — including from a physically disabled boy who later died — prosecutors have not decided on possible charges.

Ryley Maue, 4, who suffered from cerebral palsy, died in August from seizures that had been controlled by liquid Valium, according to an autopsy report. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.

Days before the death, former licensed practical nurse (LPN) Kristie Mollohan, 40, of Kalamazoo, admitted to siphoning off liquid Valium from Ryley, Ryley’s brother and from an unidentified child in Barry County, state records show. She told investigators she replaced it with water, according to records.

Allegan County Prosecutor Rob Kengis on Thursday refused to discuss details of the investigation.

“What I can tell you is that it is a complex investigation involving numerous agencies and witnesses, and that each agency wants to do a thorough and complete investigation before any decisions are made regarding charges,” he wrote in an email to 24 Hour News 8.

Mollohan started working for Lakeshore Home Health Care Services based in Wyoming in May 2015 as a home care nurse. She was assigned to work for three children in two different homes — all three had been prescribed liquid Valium for seizures.

One was the home in Allegan of Ryley Maue and his older brother, Kenny, who also suffers from cerebral palsy.

The medical examiner’s report, which was obtained by Target 8, shows Ryley’s liquid Valium had been diluted to 10 percent of the prescribed strength — not enough to control his seizures.

A state investigation led the Board of Nursing to suspend Mollohan’s LPN license in January.

Ryley’s mother, Toni Ward, said she is frustrated by the wait on possible charges. She referred other questions to her attorney.

On Thursday, the former LPN refused to come to the door of her home, but a man who answered said there is another side to the story. He refused to elaborate.

KENTWOOD, Mich. (WOOD) — After a Vietnam veteran from Kentwood lost hundreds of dollars to one of the hottest online scams going on right now, West Michigan residents wanted to help.

Larry Palmer sent nearly $500 to someone with an attractive website who claimed to be selling puppies. Then the scammers wanted Palmer to pay nearly a thousand dollars more to have the dog shipped. He didn’t have that kind of money, and the request made him realize that he had been caught up in a straight-up con job. It left him without money to buy a puppy.

When Target 8 investigators first met Palmer, he said he “just wanted a little companion to take care of and be with while I’m going through what rest of life I got.”

When that report aired last month, it moved a dozen strangers to call or email offering to get Palmer a dog.

Palmer got in touch with one of them, a woman named Sue who didn’t want her full name to be used. She helped Palmer find a puppy and paid for it. He knew right away it was the dog for him.

“The lady put her on the couch next to me and she crawled right up into my coat,” Palmer said.

Now Palmer and the teacup Yorkie he named Precious nap together in front of the TV. He is grateful for the people who offered to help.

“I’m so humbled by the fact that she did it,” he said of Sue.

Palmer got Precious from a local seller and saw the dog before he agreed to buy her — exactly what experts say you should do to avoid being lured into an online scam.

Target 8 investigators found that the scammer who got Palmer’s money used pirated puppy pictures on the website and a fake address that turned out to be a vacant lot in a small fishing village called Crisfield on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Police in Crisfield got so many complaints from victims thinking the scammers were actually there that they started their own investigation.

The crooks got their victims to use Western Union money orders that could be picked up anywhere. Detectives traced a number of them to Western Union pick-up places around the Washington D.C. area and say the bad guys collected the money using fake IDs. While somebody in the D.C. area picked up the money, the actual scammers could be running the con over the internet from anywhere in the world.

Back in Kentwood, Palmer is playing with Precious and putting the bad experience behind him, thanks to a stranger who stepped up.

“If I can afford to do it, I’m going to turn around and help somebody else in the same manner because it’s just ridiculous to have somebody do that to you,” he said. “I mean, it hurts all the way through.”

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Body camera video shows a drunk and armed FBI agent inside Grand Rapids Police Department headquarters hours after his partner shot at officers.

John Salazar, the agent who showed up to GRPD, hasn’t faced any criminal charges.

The video from the early morning of Dec. 6, 2016 was posted online over the weekend and appears to be incriminating. Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said on Monday that he had not seen it until 24 Hour News 8 showed it to him.

In the video, officers comment on Salazar.

“He’s eating 14 pieces of gum,” one officer can be heard saying.

Salazar arrived at the downtown headquarters after his partner, Ruben Hernandez, was arrested for firing at a GRPD officer outside a gym off of 28th Street — though no one was hurt in that incident.

“Did you get a call from him tonight?” one of the officers asked Salazar.

“Um,” Salazar responded.

“Someone called us. We’re still trying to figure out who called us to say he was in trouble or something. That wasn’t you?” an officer asked.

“Listen, I’m not going to answer anything right now. I have no idea,” Salazar said.

According to receipts 24 Hour News 8 obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, Salazar and Hernandez started drinking at 7:45 p.m. the night before at Brann’s Steakhouse, where they bought 12 beers. Then they headed to Sensations Showgirls nightclub near the intersection of 28th Street and the East Beltline, where they bought five more drinks. They were then separated, after which the shooting happened outside a nearby Planet Fitness.

“How come you’re not going to answer anything?” an officer can be heard asking Salazar in the video.

“Well, I got to wait for, you know, I gotta talk to my superiors and everything else,” Salazar said.

Later, an officer is heard on a phone call saying, “He’s not wanting to talk to us right now.”

“OK, really?” the person on the other end of the phone said.

“I think it’s all starting to come together,” the officer said.

>>App users: Click here to watch body camera video via YouTube

Last week, Prosecutor Becker told 24 Hour News 8 that there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Salazar with being drunk and in possession of a firearm.

“We have no idea what his blood alcohol level was when his gun was on him,” Becker said.

The video shows Salazar was armed when he walks into police headquarters.

The timestamp on the video shows the recording started around 4:23 a.m. Police documents show that at 5:22 a.m., Salazar had a blood alcohol content level of .116. Michigan’s legal limit is .08.

24 Hour News 8 brought the video to Becker on Monday. He said he didn’t have time to talk on camera, but later emailed that he “never knew about it and never even considered there would be body camera footage from inside the department to ask for it. Our understanding of body camera policy is that they are not turned on inside of the department.”

The other possible charge that Salazar could have faced was driving under the influence. The video makes it appear that he drove drunk to police headquarters. At one point, the video shows him get a cellphone charger from his rental car, which was parked in front of the police station on Monroe Center. He had the keys and no one else was with him.

Video from surveillance cameras outside headquarters could easily have shown whether or not he drove, but the prosecutor has not seen or asked to see that video. GRPD told 24 Hour News 8 it is no longer available.

The prosecutor said he was only looking at what happened at the shooting scene.

24 Hour News 8 reached out to the FBI, but officials there will not comment on Salazar’s employment status.

His partner, Hernandez, was fired by the FBI. He has taken a plea agreement and will be sentenced next month.

It’s unclear if the new video will lead to the case being reopened.