Fireman sentenced to three months in jail
Posted: 03.23.2011 at 4:02 PM
http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=596402
William Waite pled guilty in a domestic violence case.
GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY -- The Grand Traverse County fireman who pled guilty in a domestic violence case was sentenced Wednesday. William Waite was sentenced to spend up to 93-days in jail with credit for time served.
According to the district court he will also spend two years on probation. The case stemmed from an argument with his girlfriend on New Year's Eve that turned violent.
The Assistant Chief of the Blair Township Fire Department says they are still reviewing the case and they have not made a decision on whether or not Waite will keep his job.
Firefighter faces criminal charges
Waite, 25, charged with domestic violence
Traverse City Record-Eagle
BY ALEX PIAZZA
January 6, 2011
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TRAVERSE CITY — A Grand Traverse County volunteer firefighter faces a criminal charge after police said he choked his girlfriend, then punched her in the face outside a downtown Traverse City hotel.
Grand Traverse County prosecutors charged William "Bud" Waite, 25, with a misdemeanor count of domestic violence, punishable by up to 93 days in jail and/or $500. Judge Thomas J. Phillips arraigned Waite on Wednesday in 86th District Court, and he remains free on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond.
Waite, a volunteer with the Grand Traverse Rural Fire Department, and his girlfriend got into an argument over an ex-girlfriend on Dec. 31 outside the Park Place Hotel in downtown Traverse City. She left but returned to the parking lot to check on Waite.
The woman told Traverse City police the argument continued in his vehicle, so she pushed him and he responded by punching her in the face, police reports show. She told police she ran away and called authorities.
Waite also is accused of choking the woman, but he contends her version is far from the truth.
"I don't agree with it," Waite said. "I did not do that."
A preliminary breath test showed Waite's blood-alcohol level was 0.068 percent at the time of his arrest, below the state's legal limit for intoxication, court records show. An officer also said his girlfriend had been drinking, police reports show.
Chefalo, Waite's attorney, believes the woman's story is "a lot more dramatic" because of her alcohol use when she spoke with police.
"His version of this is much different than hers," Chefalo said. "I think there's a happy medium here between a brutal attack and his description, which is very far from that."
Rural fire Chief Bill Sedlacek found out about the charge Wednesday, and said he has yet to discipline Waite or sift through the police report.
"I won't take any action until such a time as he is found guilty or innocent," Sedlacek said.
Waite's pretrial conference is set for Jan. 12 in 86th District Court.
Firefighter charged with assault
Posted: 01.05.2011 at 4:30 PM
Up North Live
http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=563454
TRAVERSE CITY -- A Blair Township firefighter and EMT is accused of assaulting a woman.
Wednesday morning, William Waite was arraigned in 86th District Court on a domestic violence charge.
Police say he assaulted his girlfriend in downtown Traverse City on December 31.
The Blair Township Fire Chief says Waite is still employed with the fire department pending the outcome of the court proceedings.
A pretrial hearing is set for January 12.
