Grand Traverse County Sheriff Department Detective Justin Revnell allegedly pushed his ex-girlfriend, during a drunken altercation on December 30, 2004.
When the Michigan State Police interviewed Detective Revnell's ex-girlfriend, she also told them about a domestic assault that had occurred a few months prior.
The victim informed the Michigan State Police that during the previous domestic assault, that Detective Revnell put her in a "head lock"....knocked her feet out from underneath her.... bent her arm behind her back....and pushed her face down into the floor.
Detective Justin Revnell was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence and was suspended from the Grand Traverse County Sheriff Department, in January 2005.
Criminal charges against Detective Revnell were dropped, when the victim / witness failed to appear to testify at a March 2005 hearing....
....it appeared as though the victim / witness had vanished....
....According to Assistant State Attorney General Erin House, the victim's / witnesses's disappearance was "Concerning....she's taken steps that go well beyond what a domestic violence victim would normally do in a case like this... She stopped speaking to a lot of people that she's been close with over the years."
The Traverse City Record-Eagle disclosed that Grand Traverse Sheriff Scott Fewin spoke with the victim / witness in the case against Detective Revnell on three different occassions, after Revnell was charged with the assault...and before the victim / witness disappeared...AND THAT SHERIFF FEWIN WAS DETECTIVE REVNELL'S UNCLE.
In July 2008, Sheriff Scott Fewin filed a lawsuit [during his unsucessful re-election campaign] against the Traverse City Record-Eagle regarding an article on the disappearance of the witness in the criminal case against his nephew / Detective Revnell. Fewin was suing the newspaper for "defaming the Sheriff's good name".
In July 2009, the lawsuit against the Traverse City Record Eagle was dismissed.
ALSO SEE:
DEPUTY JUSTIN REVNELL, MARCH 2004: SIX- PAGE DEPARTMENT WRITE-UP
http://michiganoidv.blogspot.com/2004/03/deputy-justin-revnell-grand-traverse.html
DEPUTY JUSTIN REVNELL, AUGUST 2004 ASSAULT:
http://michiganoidv.blogspot.com/2004/08/deputy-justin-revnell-grand-traverse.html
Lawsuit Against Record-Eagle Dismissed
Interlochen Public Radio
Date: July 16, 2009
http://ipr.interlochen.org/ipr-news-features/episode/3423
A Benzie County Circuit Judge has dismissed a suit against the Traverse City Record-Eagle. Former Grand Traverse County Sheriff Scott Fewins charged the paper defamed him in an April 2007 editorial.
Editor Mike Tyree wrote that Fewins was tampering with the victim in a domestic violence case. It involved Fewins' nephew, who was at the time a sheriff's detective.
The Court found Fewins did not clearly show the paper acted with malice. Since Fewins had several conversations with his nephew's accuser, it could not be proven that he didn't influence her decision to move away from the area. After than, the domestic charges were dropped.
Judge James Batzer said the editorial contained sharp language and hyperbole, but was not knowingly false.
As a public official, former Sheriff Fewins faced a strict standard to prove the paper defamed him.
Grand Traverse Sheriff sues The Record Eagle
Posted: 08.01.2008 at 3:34 PM
http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=168624
The Grand Traverse County Sheriff is suing The Traverse City Record Eagle for libel. Friday afternoon, Sheriff Scott Fewins, along with his his attorney Christopher Cooke, announced they have served the newspaper with a lawsuit for "defaming the Sheriff's good name". The original complaint was filed in Benzie County Circuit Court on April 17th, but the Sheriff waited until July 17th to serve the newspaper with the lawsuit. On July 18th the case would have been automatically dismissed. When asked why they waited so long to have the suit served, Cooke told 7&4 news anchor Diana Fairbanks "We waited because We wanted to give The Record Eagle time to retract their statements." The Record Eagle has not yet commented on this lawsuit only saying they were working on a response. The sheriff is up for re-election on Tuesday.
In fairness to the two other Republican candidates 7&4 News contacted Tom Bensley and Brian Weese for comment on this story.
Brian Weese told us that " I am sure that the timing has something to do with the election. If it was actually legitimate in his mind he should have done it long ago. "
Tom Bensley told us. "It's unfortunate this had to occur. It's evident with the timing that it's for political purposes
Editorial
Justin Revnell honored by MADD selection?
Traverse City Record-Eagle
08/28/2007
http://www.record-eagle.com/2007/aug/28edit.htm
Call it clueless, bizarre, unintentionally ironic or hypocritical, but MADD's recent selection of a Grand Traverse County sheriff's deputy as recipient of a local SALUTE Michigan Law Enforcement award is a real jaw-dropper.
Apparently, Justin Revnell earned MADD's praise for logging 41 drunken driving arrests over the past year. The group must be fixated on numbers, because its choice of Revnell otherwise ignored context, history and common sense.
Revnell allegedly was intoxicated on at least two occasions in 2004 when he roughed up a live-in girlfriend, including once when he allegedly wheeled home from a local watering hole and got into it with the woman, prompting her to call for help.
A state police-administered blood-alcohol test indicated Revnell remained drunk hours after he drove home from the bar.
Local prosecutors charged Revnell with domestic violence, but their case collapsed by spring 2005 when their chief witness — Revnell's alleged victim — disappeared after a few conversations with Revnell and his uncle/employer, Sheriff Scott Fewins.
The deputy remains on the county payroll, thanks to the vanishing act, but he sure doesn't rate a commendation for alcohol enforcement.
MADD's praise of Revnell and three other local officers was announced on the eve of a local crackdown on drunken driving. Sheriff's deputies and state police from the Traverse City post are among agencies to receive bonus tax dollars to pay for extra patrols to sniff out imbibing drivers.
Motorists caught in the dragnet face jail time, stiff fines and loss of driving privileges.That is, unless the offenders work for the sheriff's department or state police. The same tough standards don't seem to apply to them.
In addition to Revnell, sheriff's deputy Gregory McManemy and then-Traverse City state police trooper David Meder ran afoul of the law after allegedly drinking too much.
McManemy this summer escaped a drunken driving charge after a long delay in taking a Breathalyzer test, while Meder last year crashed his vehicle and slipped away into the night after a boozy evening. Meder, it seems, learned a lesson from his previous 1990s drunken driving crash, arrest and conviction. This time he escaped big trouble by fleeing the scene, refusing to let responding cops in his house, and repeatedly lying. Either way, he kept his job.
These days, Revnell, McManemy and Meder are back on patrol, keeping a sharp eye out for drunks who don't wear badges.
Thankfully, MADD is out there to support law enforcement's push against drunken driving, even those who don't walk the walk, or even a straight line.
Alleged Drunk Cop Rewarded by MADD for 41 DUI Arrests
Cop with 41 DUI arrests has alleged alcohol charges himself
San Diego DUI Law Center
Sunday, August 26, 2007
MADD recently commended Justin Revnell, a sheriff's deputy, as part of its "SALUTE Michigan Law Enforcement program that encourages agencies to prioritize drunk driving arrests.
"Revnell, nephew of Grand Traverse County Sheriff Scott Fewins, was charged with domestic violence after an alleged drunken altercation with a life-in girlfriend in late 2004.
The alleged victim said Revnell was allegedly intoxicated when he drove home from a Garfield Township tavern Dec. 30, 2004, and allegedly assaulted her during an argument. Prosecutors also alleged another alcohol-related incident against Revnell stemming from an earlier encounter with the woman.
Michigan's MADD spokesman, Homer Smith, claimed he wasn't aware of Revnell's troubles.
MADD relies on local police to recommend officers for recognition and doesn't do background checks on those officers.
Officers with more than 25 drunk driving arrests over the past year received MADD awards. Revnell had 41 DUI arrests. Which criminal defense lawyer will he call?
MADD honors deputy despite past charges
Traverse City Record-Eagle
By VICTOR SKINNER
08/22/2007
http://www.record-eagle.com/2007/aug/22revnell.htm
TRAVERSE CITY — Justin Revnell, Mothers Against Drunk Driving salutes you.
MADD's state chapter recently commended Revnell, a Grand Traverse County sheriff's deputy, as part of its SALUTE Michigan Law Enforcement program "that encourages agencies to prioritize drunk driving arrests.”
Revnell, nephew of Grand Traverse County Sheriff Scott Fewins, was charged with domestic violence after an alleged drunken altercation with a live-in girlfriend in late 2004.
The alleged victim said Revnell was intoxicated when he drove home from a Garfield Township tavern on Dec. 30, 2004, and assaulted her during an argument. State police who responded hours after Revnell arrived home conducted a test that registered his blood-alcohol level at .08, the level considered drunk in Michigan.
Prosecutors also alleged another alcohol-related incident against Revnell stemming from an earlier encounter with the woman. Charges against Revnell were dropped after prosecutors lost their key witness when the woman disappeared from the area.
Michigan's MADD spokesman, Homer Smith, said he wasn't aware of Revnell's troubles. MADD relies on local police to recommend officers for recognition and doesn't do background checks on those officers, Smith said.
"The only information we collect is the name of the individuals and the number of drunk driving arrests they have made,” Smith said. "We would be concerned if an individual had been convicted of an alcohol offense ... but that is not information we are privy to.”
Fewins said officers with more than 25 drunk driving arrests over the past year received MADD awards. Revnell had 41, Fewins said.
Revnell earned an "insignia bar” from MADD for his efforts.
The MADD presentation to Revnell and three other local officers came on the eve of a federally funded, local law enforcement crackdown on drunken driving. Area agencies participating in the project include the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Department and Michigan State Police Traverse City post.
Officers from both agencies had alcohol-related problems over the past year, though none was charged with drunken driving.
Grand Traverse sheriff's officials continue to investigate deputy Gregory Scott McManemy, who was stopped in June for alleged drunken driving at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Leelanau County.
McManemy, 43, had been drinking and driving erratically when park rangers stopped his vehicle on M-22, but he was deemed under the legal limit after a second blood-alcohol test at the Grand Traverse County Jail nearly two hours later.
He was not charged with an alcohol-related offense and is back on road patrol while sheriff's officials wait for arrest reports from the Park Service.
Revnell and McManemy could participate — but are not expected to — in the statewide drunk driving crackdown, Fewins said.
State police trooper David Meder was transferred from Traverse City to South Haven, a tourist community on Michigan's southwest lakeshore, and suspended from duty for 10 days after he crashed his off-duty vehicle into a telephone pole on Peninsula Drive in May 2006.
Witnesses said Meder, who had a previous drunken driving conviction after an incident in the mid-1990s, had been drinking heavily at Brady's Bar in Traverse City before the crash.
Meder fled the crash scene on foot, reported his vehicle stolen to his insurance company, then retracting that statement days later.
Meder was sentenced to six months probation and ordered to pay more than $6,000 in restitution for two misdemeanors for failing to report the crash.He was not charged with an alcohol-related offense.
DUI enforcement gets a boost
Agencies get funding for crackdown
Traverse City Record-Eagle
By VICTOR SKINNER
08/22/2007
http://www.record-eagle.com/2007/aug/22drunkdrivers.htm
TRAVERSE CITY — Area police are beefing up drunken driving patrols through Labor Day weekend amid a statewide rise in alcohol- and drug-related traffic fatalities.
The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning is distributing approximately $650,000 in federal funds to 230 police agencies in 55 counties to support a crackdown on drunken driving that runs from Aug. 17 through Sept. 3.
In 2006, the number of alcohol- and drug-related traffic deaths increased 8 percent to represent just over 40 percent of all fatal crashes, the highest percentage in over a decade, according to the OHSP.
Last year 440 people died and 7,678 were injured in wrecks involving drugs or alcohol.
The Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Department and Traverse City Police kicked off the program with a press conference at the law enforcement center on Aug. 16. There, officials from Mothers Against Drunk Driving honored local officers for their efforts in preventing drunk driving.
City police officers Joseph Soffredine and Mark Lion and sheriff's deputies Bradley Kirkpatrick and Justin Revnell were commended with insignia bars based on their annual number of drunken driving arrests.
Sheriff Scott Fewins and city police Capt. Steve Morgan said they believe overtime patrols will take more drunk drivers off the road.
"Normally, we do arrest people on the grants because people assigned to that can concentrate on traffic and looking for apparent drunk drivers,” Morgan said.
"You are going to see increased numbers because the officers don't get called away,” Fewins said.
Traverse City's state police post commander Lt. William Elliott said extra troopers will patrol area highways over the Labor Day weekend but he also plans to use the grant money in other ways.
"We are using some of the money to do warrant sweeps for people who have outstanding warrants for alcohol-related offenses,” he said.
In Wexford County, 20 percent of fatal and serious injury accidents involved alcohol, and sheriff's officials said they believe the crackdown will help reduce that figure in more ways than one.
"It isn't just the arrests, it's the fact we are doing the media campaign and people see the officers out there,” said Sheriff Gary Finstrom. "It is those benefits of the program that are basically unmeasurable.”
Log on to www.michigan.gov/ohsp for more information on enforcement times, dates and locations.
Detective's case raises concerns over conflicts
Traverse City Record-Eagle
March 30, 2005
http://www.record-eagle.com/2005/mar/30edit.htm
Say what you want about Julius Caesar, the guy understood public opinion.
When his wife, Pompeia, became entangled in an alleged sordid affair, he divorced her, telling his advisers that while there was no solid proof of her unfaithfulness "Caesar's wife must be above suspicion."
Fast forward a couple of millennia to Grand Traverse County, where an officeholder somewhat less exalted than emperor - the county sheriff - finds himself in a no-less-embarrassing situation.
Sheriff Scott Fewins is learning the hard way that it's not always good public service to employ a relative, in his case a nephew.
Justin Revnell, 26, is one of his uncle's detectives, and until he was accused of manhandling his ex-girlfriend he was a junior high school liaison officer. He apparently also has more than a passing familiarity with the grape.
The woman told authorities the detective, on one occasion, threw her to the ground during an argument and another time held her in a headlock. She also said his judgment was affected by his drinking. He was legally drunk when state police interviewed him shortly after the alleged incident.
He denied the accusations, saying she was having a difficult time dealing with their breakup.
Fewins, showing a judgment lapse of his own, spoke directly with the woman about her allegations against his nephew. It was an odd situation for the sheriff to allow himself to be placed. Here the sheriff-uncle of the detective-nephew was talking with the ex-girlfriend-accuser of the detective-nephew. Talk about conflict.
Whatever else they talked about, Fewins said that during their three conversations, the woman said she would not testify or make a complaint against Revnell.
Interestingly, that's exactly how the case concluded.
The woman disappeared. Dust to the wind.
The investigative prowess of law enforcement was useless against the wile of a 26-year-old alleged abuse victim.
Not to worry, though, the public was assured there had been an exhaustive search. But because it was fruitless, charges against the sheriff's nephew would have to be dropped. After all, without a witness what could be done?
The whole affair does nothing to instill confidence in the county's legal system, still recuperating from a couple of body blows to its judiciary.
The sheriff should have stayed out of the case against his nephew. It should have been entirely turned over to the state police and the state attorney general's office for a full investigation and detailed report to the people.
"Above suspicion" applies to cops as well as emperors' wives.
Assault charge against detective dropped after witness vanishes
Revnell will be back to work on Monday
By BILL O'BRIEN
Record-Eagle staff writer
March 11, 2005
http://www.record-eagle.com/2005/mar/11rev.htm
TRAVERSE CITY - Instead of sitting in a courtroom as a defendant next week, a Grand Traverse County sheriff's detective will be back on the job.
County prosecutors dismissed a misdemeanor domestic assault charge against Justin Revnell, a six-year officer and nephew of Sheriff Scott Fewins.
Revnell has been suspended without pay since mid-January, when prosecutors charged him with assaulting his live-in girlfriend.
Prosecutor Alan Schneider said he dismissed the case after consulting with Erin House, an assistant state attorney general who handles domestic violence cases in Grand Traverse, Leelanau and Antrim counties.
Prosecutors said their case fell apart when their primary witness, Revnell's 26-year-old ex-girlfriend, left the area and couldn't be located to testify at Revnell's trial that was expected to begin March 16.
House said the woman has taken "extraordinary" measures to avoid testifying in the case, and that authorities have been unable to locate her to serve a subpoena compelling her to testify.
"It's concerning ... because she's taken steps that go well beyond what a domestic violence victim would normally do in a case like this," House said. "She stopped speaking to a lot of people that she's been close with over the years."
Because domestic violence victims are sometimes uncooperative with investigators, prosecutors are allowed to use "hearsay" evidence such as 911 calls or previous statements made to police. But Schneider said there was insufficient "third-party" evidence to pursue the case.
"We were depending on the victim coming around," Schneider said. "She's just not going to come through."
Revnell, 26, was charged following a Dec. 30, early-morning complaint taken by Michigan State Police. The woman told troopers she was pushed to the ground after confronting Revnell about his alcohol use.
During that interview, she also told police she was assaulted a few months earlier when Revnell put her in a "headlock" and knocked her feet from under her and put her face-down on the floor. That alleged incident prompted the charge.
Revnell told troopers there was no argument and denied the woman's accusations. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Schneider said there was no effort to deter his office from pursuing the case.
"I don't want anybody to think there's any pressure coming from somewhere else," he said. "He was charged rather ambitiously ... we tried everything we could to put this case together."
Fewins accused prosecutors of pursuing the case too aggressively. On Thursday he said he believed Revnell was charged because he was a police officer.
"Nobody else would have been charged, based on what I saw," Fewins said. "I never felt charges were justified."
House disagreed.
"The facts of this case are similar to facts we charge on everyday," she said. "If it was unfounded, we never would have charged him."
House said the woman also may have been influenced by the media attention to the case, and by members of Revnell's family.
"I know she talked with them about what could happen to (Revnell)," she said.
House also said the case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning the charge could be re-filed if the woman is found.
Revnell's attorney, Clarence Gomery, said his client and family had nothing to do with the woman's disappearance.
"My client or myself have no knowledge as to her whereabouts, or her reasons for lack of contact (with prosecutors)," Gomery said.
A police report indicated that when troopers interviewed Revnell, a preliminary breath test indicated his blood alcohol level was .08 percent - legally intoxicated in Michigan.
Revnell underwent an alcohol assessment after being charged, Fewins said, and has taken daily breath tests over the past two months but hasn't been ordered to attend alcohol counseling. The sheriff said he's satisfied Revnell does not have an alcohol problem.
"Absolutely," Fewins said. "I would be shocked if he had a drink in the last 60 days."
Fewins said Revnell will be reimbursed for almost two months of back pay and will be assigned to the department's detective bureau upon his return to work Monday.
Revnell had worked as a school liaison officer at Traverse City West Junior High School but won't return for now; the current school officer will finish out the year, Fewins said.
Officer's trial date set for March 16
He allegedly assaulted his ex-girlfriend
By IAN C. STOREY
Record-Eagle staff writer
February 5, 2005
http://www.record-eagle.com/2005/feb/05rev.htm
TRAVERSE CITY - A trial date has been set for a Grand Traverse County sheriff's detective charged with assaulting his former girlfriend.
Justin Revnell, 26, has been scheduled for a jury trial in 86th District Court on March 16. He faces one count of misdemeanor domestic assault after he allegedly assaulted his ex-girlfriend at the couple's home a few months ago.
Revnell pleaded not guilty to the charge during his arraignment before Judge Thomas Phillips on Jan. 12.
State police took a complaint from Revnell's ex-girlfriend on Dec. 30 after she told police Revnell pushed her when she confronted him about his alcohol use. During the interview, the woman told police months earlier Revnell had put her in a "headlock" before knocking her feet out from under her, then pushed her face into the floor, prompting the misdemeanor assault charge.
The day after his arraignment, Revnell was removed from paid administrative leave and put on unpaid suspension from his post as a school liaison officer at Traverse City West Junior High.
"That is probably where this will stay until the criminal part of this is over," said Sheriff Scott Fewins, also Revnell's uncle, after the suspension. "Then we will close our internal investigation at that time and make a decision if there are any other sanctions that need to be imposed."
As a condition of bond, Phillips ordered Revnell to surrender his personal firearms, restricted him from contacting the alleged victim, and ordered him to submit to daily alcohol tests.
Jury selection is scheduled for March 14. If convicted, Revnell could face a maximum of 93 days in jail and fines.
Officer received on-job reproach
By IAN C. STOREY
Record-Eagle staff writerJanuary 28, 2005
http://www.record-eagle.com/2005/jan/28revnel.htm
TRAVERSE CITY - A supervisor raised concerns about the job performance and work habits of a Grand Traverse County Sheriff's detective recently charged with domestic assault.
Sheriff's Capt. David Meachum in March penned a six-page memo to Sheriff Scott Fewins outlining problems with Justin Revnell's performance as a school liaison officer at Traverse City West Junior High. Fewins is Revnell's uncle.
"This memo is rather lengthy," wrote Meachum. "However, the performance issues need to be documented to show that corrective behavior needs to occur."
Revnell, 26, is charged with misdemeanor domestic assault after his ex-girlfriend told police he put her in a "headlock" before knocking her feet out from underneath her. He also allegedly bent her arm behind her back and pushed her face down into the floor.
Revnell is suspended without pay and is scheduled for trial in district court in four to six weeks, court officials said. Meachum wrote last year that he received complaints from principals about Revnell's "visibility" and interaction with students at the school, and complaints that Revnell at times appeared less than "10 percent of the week" in early 2004.
If Revnell regains his job, school officials want to be consulted before he returns as a liaison officer, said Jayne Mohr, assistant superintendent with Traverse City Area Public Schools.
Meachum also raised concern about Revnell's time management and paperwork, finding that he failed to file daily activity reports 29 times in January and February.
According to Meachum's report, Revnell also failed to adequately investigate a criminal sexual conduct incident.
Revnell's personnel file shows that during his five years as a deputy he received one commendation and two positive citizen contact letters, but also was "counseled" three times, including once for not showing up for an assigned overtime shift.
In a performance evaluation in May, Meachum reported that although improvement had been made since March, including better reviews from school principals, Revnell still needed improvement in handling "mundane, everyday cases."
Detective off job without any pay
Sheriff Fewins' nephew facing assault charges
By IAN C. STOREY
Record-Eagle staff writer
January 15, 2005
http://www.record-eagle.com/2005/jan/15revnel.htm
TRAVERSE CITY - A Grand Traverse County Sheriff's detective charged with domestic assault is suspended without pay until his legal problems are resolved.
Sheriff Scott Fewins said Justin Revnell, 26, was removed from paid administrative leave and suspended on Thursday.
"That is probably where this will stay until the criminal part of this is over," said Fewins, who also is Revnell's uncle. "Then we will close our internal investigation at that time and make a decision if there are any other sanctions that need to be imposed."
Revnell, a liaison officer at a local junior high school, was arraigned in 86th District Court Wednesday on one misdemeanor charge of domestic assault for a Dec. 30 incident involving his ex-girlfriend at the couple's Barney Road home.
The crime is punishable by up to 93 days in jail and fines.
Revnell pleaded not guilty. As a condition of bond, Judge Thomas Phillips instructed him to surrender his personal firearms, restricted him from contacting the alleged victim, and ordered him to submit to daily alcohol tests.
"Other officers have continued to work (while being charged with crimes)," said Fewins. "We just decided that is not the way we are going to do it."
A Michigan State Police report stated that the alleged victim told troopers she and Revnell had an altercation early Dec. 30 when Revnell allegedly pushed her to the ground after she confronted him about his alcohol use.
A breath test performed by troopers just before 6 a.m. found Revnell's blood alcohol to be .08.
The woman also told police Revnell allegedly assaulted her months ago when he put her in a headlock and forced her to the ground.
If convicted, under state law Revnell could carry a firearm once cleared by the courts, but under federal law he would not be able to carry a handgun because of a conviction.
Detective pleads innocent to domestic assault charge
Judge orders his personal weapons seized
By IAN C. STOREY
Traverse City Record Eagle
January 13, 2005
http://www.record-eagle.com/2005/jan/13rev.html
TRAVERSE CITY - A Grand Traverse County Sheriff's detective pleaded not guilty to a charge he assaulted his former girlfriend.
Justin Joe Revnell, 26, appeared before 86th District Court Judge Thomas Phillips Wednesday on one charge of domestic assault stemming from alleged incidents with a woman at a Barney Road residence.
The misdemeanor is punishable up to 93 days in jail and fines.Revnell, a police liaison officer at Traverse City West Junior High, was placed on paidadministrative leave Monday by Sheriff Scott Fewins, Revnell's uncle.
Revnell's attorney, James Hunt, and state attorney general special Prosecutor Erin House argued over the conditions of Revnell's bond, including whether he could continue to possess personal firearms.
Revnell's service handgun and identification were taken by Fewins after Revnell was placed on leave. Hunt argued that Revnell's personal firearms posed no threat to the victim, but Phillips ordered the weapons seized.
"I think requiring someone (being charged with assault) not to have firearms is appropriate," said Phillips.
Phillips said if Revnell is reinstated by the sheriff's office, he will be able to carry a firearm during working hours only, surrendering it after his shifts are done.
Phillips also set a $500 personal recognizance bond for Revnell, and included a no-contact condition with the victim and daily blood alcohol tests.
A complaint taken by the Michigan State Police said the victim told officers the two had an altercation early Dec. 30 when Revnell allegedly pushed her to the ground after she confronted him about his alcohol use.
The woman called 911 and left the house before being interviewed by troopers at the county jail.
When police contacted Revnell at the home hours later, he denied he had a verbal argument or assaulted the woman and said he did not have a problem with alcohol.
But a breath test performed on Revnell by troopers just before 6 a.m. found his blood alcohol to be .08, the state's legal limit for public intoxication.
The woman also told police Revnell allegedly assaulted her months ago when he put her in a "headlock" before knocking her feet out from underneath her and pushing her face down into the floor.
Detective to be charged with assault
Sheriff's nephew admits drinking, denies attack
Traverse City Record Eagle, MI
January 11, 2005
By IAN C. STOREYRecord-Eagle staff writer
http://www.record-eagle.com/2005/jan/11deputy.htm
TRAVERSE CITY - A Grand Traverse County detective who's also the nephew of Sheriff Scott Fewins faces criminal charges for allegedly assaulting a woman while intoxicated.
Justin Revnell, 26, a police liaison officer at Traverse City West Junior High, is charged with one count of domestic assault, a misdemeanor punishable up to 93 days in jail.
"He could be arraigned as early as Wednesday," said county Prosecutor Alan Schneider.
Fewins said he was contacted by the prosecutor's office on Monday and immediately placed Revnell on indefinite paid, administrative leave.
Fewins said his nephew has admitted to drinking in excess at times, but denied the assault claims.
An internal investigation likely will be conducted by the head of the detective's bureau. A complaint taken by the Michigan State Police states that Revnell's former girlfriend told officers the two had an altercation early Dec. 30. Revnell allegedly shoved her to the ground after she confronted him about his alcohol use.
The woman told police she arrived at the couple's Barney Road home that night just after midnight, but couldn't find Revnell, according to a police report.
Later, she said she found Revnell, 26, drinking at a Long Lake Township bar and offered to drive him home, but he refused. Revnell later contacted her by phone and told her he was driving home but didn't want to talk, the report stated.
After he arrived, the woman attempted to talk to Revnell about his drinking before he allegedly grabbed her and threw her to the ground, she told police.
The woman called 911 and left the house before being interviewed by troopers at the county jail. At 5:20 a.m. on Dec. 30, police contacted Revnell at his home. Revnell denied he had a verbal argument or assaulted the woman, and stated she was having "difficulty with the relationship ending."
Revnell did not return messages left for him at West Junior High.
During the interview on Dec. 30, Revnell also allegedly denied to officers that he had an alcohol problem and that he hadn't been intoxicated during the incident. But a breath test performed on Revnell just before 6 a.m. found his blood-alcohol to be .08, the state's legal limit for public intoxication.
The woman also told police that
Revnell allegedly assaulted her three to four months ago when he put her in a "head lock" before knocking her feet out from underneath her. He also allegedly bent her arm behind her back and pushed her face down into the floor.
Fewins said Revnell was placed on administrative leave around noon on Monday. "Whenever someone is put on leave, I take their ID, weapon, and we take them home. Being out on leave is normally not too long before it would realize reinstatement or suspension," he said.
Fewins said the girlfriend contacted him three times since the incident and told him she never considered herself a victim and would not testify or make a complaint.
"We were awaiting what the prosecutor would do and I did not anticipate the prosecutor would file a complaint," said Fewins, who said he did not try to sway the victim from pursuing charges.
According to a report, the woman told police Revnell often drove intoxicated and that drinking was affecting his life and prompting him to call in sick for work.
"Obviously, this is not a good day for the sheriff personally and for the whole department," saidFewins. "It is not the kind of thing I like to see happen, but it needs to be brought out. It will work out. I have faith in the court system."
