LIVINGSTON COUNTY — Several notable court cases are pending in Livingston County.
Here's where they stand:
44th Circuit Court
Scott Holloway is scheduled for a jury trial from Sept. 23-27 in front of Judge Matthew McGivney. Holloway, 56, was charged with four counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor under the age of 13. Police say the alleged acts took place between 1993 and 2005 when Holloway lived in Putnam Township. He was charged in January 2022.
Tonya Lacey is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 19 in front of Judge Miriam Cavanaugh after receiving a delayed sentence of eight months in April. Lacey, 42, is charged with second-degree child abuse after her two-year-old child gained access to an unsecured firearm in Howell and accidentally shot himself. He died of his injuries. Lacey pled no contest to the charge.
A delayed sentence is granted to defendants to give them an opportunity to prove their eligibility for probation and other leniency.
Robert Albert, 37, of Fenton is scheduled for a review hearing on Sept. 13 in front of Judge Matthew McGivney. Albert was charged with one count of second-degree murder, one count of operating while intoxicated causing death, and one count of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury.
Police say Albert was involved in a two-vehicle crash in September 2022 in Tyrone Township. A 46-year-old Fenton woman died, and her 48-year-old male passenger was taken to the hospital with critical injuries.
Mark Burgaj, 30, was charged with aggravated stalking and second-degree arson after a fire on Fieldcrest Drive in Green Oak Township. According to records, a June hearing was removed from the court's calendar because it was “no longer needed, as (the) defendant is in (a) treatment facility.”
Burgaj is currently scheduled for a hearing on Oct. 4 in front of Judge Matthew McGivney.
Reese Hammie, 23, is scheduled for a jury trial on Sept. 16 in front of Judge Miriam Cavanaugh. Hammie has been charged with one count of open murder and one count of witness bribing/intimidating/interfering.
He is accused of killing Michigan State University student Oghenevwede (Wede) Okagbare in August 2023. Hammie is also charged with first-degree home invasion, assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, and domestic violence in a separate case. In a third case, Hammie was sentenced to 93 days in jail after being found guilty of four counts of domestic violence in November 2023 in 53rd District Court.
Zachary Lally, 26, is currently not scheduled for a hearing. According to court records, Judge Suzanne Geddis recused herself from the case on June 5. The case was reassigned to Judge Daniel Bain on June 10, but was again reassigned to Judge Susan Longsworth a few days later.
It has since been reassigned again to Judge Celeste Bell of the 7th Judicial Circuit Court in Genesee County.
Lally is charged with four counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct causing personal injury and one count each of second-degree criminal sexual conduct causing injury and assault with intent to commit sexual penetration. A jury convicted Lally on the charges in March 2020, but he was granted a new trial in March 2021 after Judge Michael Hatty found Pamela Maas, the assistant prosecutor for the case, acted in a way that could have unfairly swayed the jury.
Melissa Borden was bound over to 44th Circuit Court on March 28. She is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Sept. 27 in front of Judge Suzanne Geddis. Borden, 50, is charged with abandonment/cruelty to 25 or more animals. Borden is the owner of The Devoted Barn, a program of Ortonville-based nonprofit Devoted Friends Animal Society.
The Devoted Barn kept a variety of farm animals on vacant land on Foley Road east of Hartland Road near Majestic View Drive in Tyrone Township. On Jan. 18, deputies seized and relocated 64 animals, including sheep, goats, pigs, donkeys and an alpaca.
Jerome Kowalski is scheduled for trial on Sept. 30 in the 44th Circuit Court in front of Shiawassee County Chief Circuit Judge Matthew Stewart. In 2013, Kowalski was convicted of the 2008 murder of his brother and sister-in-law.
In 2019, he was granted a new trial after the judge in his case, Theresa Brennan, was disbarred and sentenced to six months in jail after ethics and criminal investigations revealed she had a close relationship with Michigan State Police Det. Sean Furlong, who led the investigation into the murders of Richard and Brenda Kowalski.
Desean Stanley, 19, was one of the suspects in a car dealership break-in in Pinckney. He pled guilty to 12 charges — 10 felonies and two misdemeanors — and is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 5 in front of Judge Matthew McGivney.
Armarion Gaskin, 22, another suspect in the break-in, is charged with one felony count of assaulting/resisting/obstructing an officer. He posted bond on July 9 and is currently scheduled for a pretrial hearing on Sept. 6 in front of Judge Matthew McGivney. He is not currently scheduled for trial.
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Washtenaw County Trial Court
James Lee Trussel was scheduled for a jury trial, but it was canceled June 6, according to court documents. On May 31, his defense attorney withdrew from the case. He is now scheduled for trial on Dec. 2 in front of Judge Patrick Conlin Jr.
Trussell, 19, was charged with homicide-open murder after the fatal stabbing of Ari Clarke, 22, in July in Ypsilanti. Clarke was a graduate of Howell High School.
— Contact reporter Tess Ware attware@livingstondaily.com.
