Current Issue
Suspended license case ends in 23-count police chase
A 41-year-old Rockford man who was originally charged with driving on a suspended license is now facing a 23-count warrant, after leading several law enforcement agencies on a pursuit through Montcalm County last week.
Mark Dwayne McCuaig
During a court appearance Wednesday, March 3, for driving on a suspended license, Mark Dwayne McCuaig, 41, who uses addresses in both Rockford and Greenville, was ordered into custody for contempt of court.
According to Montcalm County Undersheriff Mark Bellinger, as McCuaig was being taken from Montcalm 64B District Court to the lock-up room, he struggled with the officer and fled through the door into the courtroom. Once in the courtroom, an assistant Montcalm County prosecutor and a state corrections officer, who was serving as a juror, stopped him. When they let McCuaig up to be taken into custody, he took off on foot.
“At this time, the court officer deployed his Taser with no effect,” said Bellinger. The man then fled to the front door of the court complex where a second court officer confronted him. Mace was deployed on the suspect and he ran through the front doors into the parking lot.
Police said McCuaig got into a van owned by a friend and locked the doors as officers approached. He then started the van, and as he backed out of the parking spot, officers broke out the driver’s window and deployed another Taser. The suspect then went forward and out of the parking lot on to south M-66.
The Stanton Police Chief spotted the vehicle and took up the pursuit. The vehicle was chased on various back roads, with speeds approaching 80 miles per hour, heading in a southwest direction toward Greenville.
A Michigan State Police trooper slowed the suspect by putting down stop sticks on Peck Road, between M-91 and Vining Road. However, McCuaig was only a short distance from his home. He drove up to the house and barricaded himself inside the home.
Bellinger said authorities tried to contact the suspect to no avail. “Due to the concern that the suspect would cause injury to himself, an entry team of four officers and a K-9 team was formed and entered the home,” he explained.
McCuaig then fled the home and into a pole barn garage where he had earlier started a 1971 Dodge motor home. As officers attempted to stop McCuaig through the driver’s side window, he backed up the motor home, put the vehicle into forward gear, and drove out of the closed garage door and into the front of a Montcalm County patrol vehicle.
The suspect then drove west on Peck Road and struck a Greenville Department of Public Safety patrol car at the intersection of Peck and M-91. He then turned south on M-91 and struck another Department of Public Safety vehicle several times in the rear.
McCuaig then turned the motor home around and headed north on M-91, until a Montcalm County Sheriff’s Office Ford Expedition patrol vehicle forced the motor home off the west side of the road into a snowy field, where it stopped.
The suspect fled on foot, and another Taser was deployed, which brought
McCuaig to the ground, where he was apprehended and taken to the Montcalm County Jail.
An officer from the Greenville Department of Public Safety was transported to Spectrum Hospital in Greenville for injuries he sustained when the suspect struck the rear of his vehicle.
During the chase, two Montcalm County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicles were damaged along with three Greenville Department of Public Safety patrol vehicles.
Also assisting deputies in the chase were officers from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
The Montcalm County Prosecutor’s Office is charging McCuaig with seven counts of resisting and obstructing a police officer, five counts of fleeing a police officer, five counts of malicious destruction to a police vehicle, three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, one count of unauthorized driving away of a motor vehicle, one count of malicious destruction of a building, and one count of assaulting or obstructing a police officer.
McCuaig is lodged in the Montcalm County Jail in lieu of posting a $500,000 bond. His exam on the charges is set for Monday, March 15.
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Man arrested for illegal circumcisions
On March 2, 2010, Thomas Alan Heugel, age 56, of Sparta was arrested and charged with Health Profession-Unauthorized Practice and Occupational Code-Performance Occupation Without a License. Heugel was performing circumcisions on adult male subjects, as well massages and body piercing. He portrayed himself as a medical doctor to his patients and performed these procedures at his residence.
Heugel was arraigned in the 63rd District Court and bond was set at $5,000 personal recognizance.
The Kent County Sheriff’s Department believes Heugel may have performed these procedures on many unsuspecting victims. Anyone who has additional information regarding Heugel and his performing illegal medical procedures is encouraged to contact Detective Ed Kolakowski at (616) 336-5179, the Kent County Sheriff’s Office at (616) 632-6100, or Silent Observer at (616) 774-2345.
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Squire tags along on family celebration
This is a picture taken in Boynton Beach, Fla. on February 9 at the Olive Garden. Readers will recognise Betty and Thomas Combs. (Betty was the mayor of Rockford) and they also owned “The Motel.”
This is the celebration of their daughter, Paulette’s birthday. Paulette Kovich is on the right in the back and friend Karol Koopman is on the left in the back.
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Rockford Relay for Life coming up fast
The American Cancer Society (ACS) will hold its eighth annual Relay For Life at North Rockford Middle School athletic field on Friday, May 21 through Saturday, May 22, 2010. The Rockford Relay Committee is holding its second meeting for all team members, cancer survivors, and anyone interested in organizing or joining a team for the Relay on Thursday, March 11, at 6:30 p.m. at Wolverine World Wide Corporate Headquarters. (Doors open at 6 p.m.) Relay For Life of Rockford has raised more than 2.1 million dollars in the last seven years. It is a 24-hour fund raising activity benefiting the ACS’s programs and services. The event is hosted by the City of Rockford and the Rockford Public Schools.
The Relay For Life of Rockford committee has come up with a “Rockin’ Relay” theme for the 2010 event. We hope that our teams will incorporate music or a music-type theme into the tent decorations and team activities. The American Cancer Society offers hope and support for those diagnosed, and wants us to remember those who have succumbed to cancer.
For more information visit www.relayforlife.org/rockfordmi and click on “Donate” or contact Kelly Lipe (616) 866-2936 or Bonnie Ryfiak (616) 866-9707.
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Michigan state parks, recreation areas, harbors fill up quickly
Make summer camping reservations now
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds users of Michigan state parks, recreation areas and harbors that reservations are now being accepted for the 2010 summer camping and boating season. Reservations for harbor slips, campsites, cabins, teepees, and yurts are now available online or through the central reservation system call center for dates beginning as early as Memorial Day weekend.
“Campsite reservations become available six months in advance of your requested arrival date, so we are already accepting reservations booking campsites for as early as the Memorial Day weekend,” said Ron Olson, chief of the DNR Parks and Recreation Division. “Staff at the reservation call center begin taking phone calls at 8 a.m. on weekdays and at 9 a.m. on weekends. New site availability dates roll into the database at those times to be fair to all users.”
Campers and boaters who are planning their vacations are reminded to make their reservations now to secure a campsite or slip at their favorite park, recreation area, harbor or marina. Also, while planning your vacations, check out the calendar of events at www.michigan.gov/dnrgogetoutdoors, and select “GO-Get Outdoors,” to see what events are being planned in 2010 at your favorite state park, recreation area or harbor. This calendar is updated as events are finalized.
Also, for those winter outdoor enthusiasts, there are state parks and recreation areas that remain open for winter camping or outdoor recreation year-round. Some offer rustic camping with no amenities, while others offer semi-modern campsites with site electricity available. Some parks have cabins, mini-cabins, lodges or yurts available to rent all year, and the cabins are mostly heated with wood or propane stoves. So GO-Get Outdoors and enjoy nature year-round.
Reservations can be made online at www.midnrreservations.com, or by contacting the DNR central reservation system at 1-800-447-2757.
For more information about a specific state park or recreation area, winter camping opportunities, events or accessibility, visit the DNR’s website at www.michigan.gov/dnr, under the “Recreation, Camping and Boating” section, or contact the Lansing office at (517) 373-9900 (TTY/TDD711 Michigan Relay Center for the hearing impaired).
Permits for the 2010 season are also available to purchase at any state park or recreation area, or on the DNR’s website through the Michigan E-store. Cost is $24 for a resident annual motor vehicle entrance permit, or $6 for a resident daily permit. A non-resident annual permit is $29 and a non-resident daily is $8. Resident annual senior discount permits are $6 and can only be purchased in person at a state park or recreation area, or the main office in downtown Lansing, and will require a valid driver’s license and vehicle registration.
Boating access site permits are $24 for an annual permit, or $6 for a daily permit, for both residents and non-residents. Boating access site permits are also available for purchase through the Michigan E-store or at fee sites. For a list of boating access sites that require a permit, visit the “Boating” section on the DNR’s website, or visit www.mcgi.state.mi.us/MRBIS for all boating access sites throughout the state.
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