Over in Alpena, the Michigan State Police (MSP) created a couple of extra criminals after they couldn't follow sensible protocols in trying to arrest a man wanted on multiple warrants.  Here is the most complete narrative of what went down from WEYI Channel 25 News:

ALPENA COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- Michigan State Police from the Alpena post attempted to pick-up an Alpena man Monday [June 3rd] on eight misdemeanor warrants.


Police obtained information that 31-year-old Joshua Dziuba was at a residence on M-32 in Alpena and reportedly approached him outside the home.


According to police, Dziuba disobeyed the troopers' commands and fled into the home.
Dziuba reportedly began to taunt the police through the glass, giving them the middle finger and waving.

He was then informed of his warrants and according to police, refused to come out of the home.
A search warrant for the residence was obtained by police and additional troopers and an MSP Canine Team were called.


Upon entering the residence, police reported a 58-year-old relative of Dziuba made himself known but refused to comply with numerous lawful commands.


The obstruction caused by the man created a safety concern according to police, and as a result the canine was deployed and the man was taken into custody.


Police reported that the man made numerous statements that Dzuiba was not in the residence as well as verbally berating the troopers.


According to police, a complete search of the living area in the home was completed and Dzuiba was not located.


A concealed entrance to the attic was then discovered by troopers and searched, reportedly revealing Dzuiba hiding underneath loose insulation.


Based on the evidence of the scene, police reported that the entrance to the attic had to have been concealed by someone other than Dzuiba.


Dzuiba was arrested and taken to the Alpena County Jail on the eight outstanding warrants and one felony count of resisting and obstructing.


The police also arrested the 58-year-old man for harboring a fugitive and felony resisting and obstructing.


In addition to the arrests of the two men, warrants are being sought for an 18-year-old female who was also at the home and reportedly made false/obstructive statements during the investigation.


The Alpena County Prosecutor issued felony warrants supporting the troopers' arrests and Dzuiba was charged with one count of Assaulting/Resisting/Obstruction (R&O) a Police officer.


Dzuiba was arraigned Thursday in the 88th District Court and is being held on $100,000 bond.


The 58-year-old man was charged with R&O and a count of hh.
He posted a $25,000/10% bond and is scheduled for arraignment on June 18. [END]

ANALYSIS:  The MSP note that they had a tip that Dziuba was at the residence and had eight misdemeanor warrants that they should have had at hand.  They caught him outdoors, approached him and expressed their intent to arrest him on those warrants-- he fled into the house.  

If the troopers had their warrants handy, they would have been able to engage in 'hot pursuit' and not only be able to open the door to follow the fleeing criminal, but also break it down if Dziuba secured it behind him.  MCL 764.21 allows a peace officer, when making an arrest with a warrant, to break open an inner or outer door of a building in which the person to be arrested is located or is reasonably believed to be located if, after announcing his or her purpose, he or she is refused admittance.

These troopers failed to pursue that option, leading one to wonder why not.  Did they come there, contrary to what was reported, without any warrant to arrest Dziuba on either or all of the eight misdemeanors?   Did they have a misunderstanding of what they could lawfully do to catch the fleer?

Hot pursuit for misdemeanor violations is one of those unsettled legal issues when warrants aren't available, but if you have an arrest warrant handy, or eight of them, you can clearly pursue the character even into somebody else's home.  If they had done that, they would not have had to endure his taunts nor the extra rigors of obtaining a search warrant for a house, which ultimately led to the involvement of two others-- and this is where the MSP turned this into a total fiasco.

The homeowner is said to have 'refused to comply with numerous lawful commands' (none mentioned), which led to them having their service police dog attack.  There is no picture of this 'accomplice' likely because apprehension by a deployed police dog can make a messy mug shot.  There is no mention of any kind of obstruction other than not following the trooper's commands while they are invading his house-- probably without even showing him their search warrant and what it allowed them exactly to search.  The man is noted, however, practicing his protected First Amendment rights in verbally berating the troopers, as if it's proof of his wrongdoing, rather than the MSP's serial incompetence in the affair. 

The mauled homeowner had a charge of harboring a misdemeanor fugitive MCL 750.199(2) tacked on to the resisting charge for not listening to 'lawful' commands.  One can defend oneself against the charge of harboring a fugitive by either claiming to have no knowledge of the crime(s) or by proving lack of intent by the 'concealer'.  The MSP seem to suggest that this guy should and could throw a wanted criminal out of his house when the crook is effectively cornered there by the police.

Added onto the flustercuck is the potential arrest of an 18 year old woman who 'made false/obstructive statements' during the police search.  This young woman could have easily been misleading police or not talking to them due to fear of repercussion from either them, Dziuba, or the mauled homeowner.  There was no crime being investigated there was a manhunt in a house under siege by state government agents.  

If the MSP are looking to charge her with something, you can bet that there is plenty more that went wrong with this messed up raid whose aftermath may wind up in a federal court near you due to their failure to follow protocols which led to criminalizing two extra people who just may have wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time.  

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It may be that the police cannot pursue a person into a dwelling on a misdemeanor warrant so they had to obtain a search warrant in order to capture the suspect. It sounds to me as if the police did the right thing and waited for the second warrant. As far as the suspects relative and the woman, we really don't know what took place according to the report. If they interfered with the police then they must face the consequences for that. From what I read is it any wonder that police dept are having difficulty finding people to hire. If the suspect had surrendered himself, he could have saved everyone a lot of trouble. And unless the police are lying, the other two appear to have caused their own problems.

The  MCL 764.21 law does allow that if they went there with an arrest warrant, this likely means that the police were acting on bench warrants (usually issued for civil issues), which would not allow them to engage in such a pursuit.  This is why I do not believe the narrative, because had they misdemeanor arrest warrants like they suggest, they would have went through that door.  Likewise, checking Dziuba's OTIS file, he hadn't any active misdemeanor charges or active warrants noted (at least for now).

My belief is that the troopers were frustrated that they allowed Dziuba to slip between their fingers and get away, doubly frustrated because he was making fun of them through a screen door they couldn't pass through.  State troopers have too much pride (the bad type of pride) to let that happen, so they convinced a willing magistrate to let them break into a house which wasn't Dziuba's and search for the guy who made them feel and look stupid.  They add to the foolishness by bringing in a police dog who winds up attacking the homeowner who likely never got a look at the trooper's search warrant before becoming dog food because he was a 'safety concern'.  If the MSP cannot describe why he was a safety concern, expect those frustrated troopers to have acted out their frustration on that poor guy. 

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