United States News
See other United States News Articles
Title: Grieving dad jailed for repeatedly criticizing court system in Macomb County
Source:
WXYZ - Detroit
URL Source: https://www.wxyz.com/news/region/ma ... -court-system-in-macomb-county
Published: Sep 10, 2019
Author: Kim Russell
Post Date: 2019-09-10 07:14:16 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 852
Comments: 3
(WXYZ) — He lost a custody battle, then his son lost his life. He blames the court system. He voiced his strong opinions on social media and the next thing he knew he was locked in jail. “He was so full of life,” said Deborah Vanderhagen of her grandson. “I am trying not to cry.” On September 22 it will be the two-year anniversary of the day Deborah Vanderhagen’s grandson Killian lost his life. She believes her son Jonathan Vanderhagen is justified in feeling the court cost her grandson his life. He died in the custody of his mom after her son asked for sole custody. “His lawyer said something is going to happen to this child. You need to get him away from the mother. There are too many red flags. And the judge said, oh that is in the past,” said Deborah Vanderhagen. The police report filed after two-year-old Killian died shows he had a previous medical condition and investigators did not believe there was evidence Killian’s mother was responsible. His dad felt otherwise and repeatedly posted criticism of the judge who presided over his case and friend of the court on his Facebook Page. Judge Rachel Rancilio saw the posts, many of which are publicly targeted at her. She apparently felt uncomfortable and possibly threatened. She did not hear the custody hearing, which was handled by a court referee. The Macomb County Sheriff’s office responded and found he criticized what Judge Rachel Rancilio pinned on Pinterest as in his opinion inappropriate, posted videos saying he feels she and others responsible for Killian’s death, and blamed the court system for his loss. The investigative report also says at no time did he threaten harm or violence. Still he was charged with malicious use of telecommunications services and released on bond. Then he made more posts, such as one that reads, “Dada back to digging and you best believe I’m gonna dig up all the skeletons in this court’s closet.” A judge ruled he violated his bond conditions. He now is in jail on half a million dollars bond. As the petition to impeach judge Rancilio aptly points out, “a $500,000 bond for a misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $1000 points to judicial impropriety, and retaliation- not justice. ” His mom says she feels he simply was exercising his right to free speech. “He just wants justice. He don’t want to kill anybody. He don’t want anybody physically hurt. He wants them to acknowledge what they’ve done and get justice,” said Deborah Vanderhagen. A jury trial is scheduled for September 13.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Deckard (#0)
A less yella journalistic report. A Chesterfield Township man is being held on a $500,000 bond and faces a misdemeanor trial, accused of posting implied threats to a Macomb County judge related to the death of his young son. Jonathan Vanderhagen, 35, was arrested and jailed July 11 for posting comments and images about circuit Judge Rachel Rancilio related to his late son, Killian, who died at 21 months in September 2017 while under the care of his mother. Rancilio filed a police complaint against Vanderhagen. He posted 10 percent of a $10,000 bond but was thrown back in jail July 24 when Judge Sebastian Lucido of 41B District Court raised the bond to $500,000 because Vanderhagen posted additional items the judge deemed in violation of bond conditions. Lucido said while the new postings weren’t direct threats, they violated his condition of no direct or indirect contact. “Though he likes to hint around the fringes of it, in my opinion they are of a threatening nature after the no contact (order) was put in place,” Lucido said at the bond hearing, according to a transcript. Lucido adds, “They’re alluding to Judge Rancilio and I’m not going to sit here and explain it any further,” saying the postings speak for themselves.” Assistant Macomb Prosecutor Dan Debruin told the judge two new posts should be considered in light of the prior posts that resulted in his arrest, the transcript says. “He talks about big things happening behind the scenes,” Debruin said in court, referring to the postings. “We are God’s soldiers. And then … he has posts that say ‘judgment day.’” DeBruin said the new posts constitute a “continued attempt to try to intimidate and harass and maliciously use a telecommunications device.” The heightened bond prompted Vanderhagen’s attorney, Nicholas Somberg, to appeal to circuit Judge James Biernat Jr., who on Aug. 12 denied the request for a lower bond. Somberg told The Macomb Daily the bond is “completely unprecedented” at a level reserved for “gangters, killers and robbers.” “He has no record, he has never threatened anybody,” he said of his client. It's also a denial of his First Amendment right to free speech, Somberg contended. “There’s no threats,” he told the judge at the hearing. “There’s no reaching out to Judge Rancilio. There’s been no contact. There’s no inadvertent messages. All the messages after the no contact (order) are all very innocuous. There’s things going on behind the scenes, so what?” Vanderhagen’s mother, Deborah, said her son is being unfairly punished. “It’s just outrageous,” she said. She added her son was devastated by the loss of his son two years ago and wants justice that he believes he didn’t get from the courts. She said he expresses himself in artistic ways on his Facebook page. “We just want people to acknowledge what they’ve done and be reprimanded for what they did,” she said. She said her son is “a very calm person” who has never shown violence. Vanderhagen faces trial in 41B next Friday on a charge of malicious use of telecommications services, punishable by up to six months in jail. He was arrested for posting items such as on July 8 when he published a photo of him carrying a shovel across his back, with the initials “RR” scrawled over the shovel handle and the letters "MR," the initials of his Killian’s mother’s attorney, scrawled over the shovel blade. “Dada back to digging & you best believe im gonna dig up all the skeletons in this court's closet,” he says in an accompanying post. Also on July 8, he posted a photo of Rancilio embracing her father in 2018 and criticized her appointment to the Governor’s Task Force for Abuse and Neglected Children. He also posted a photo of Rancilio with her children and reposted Rancilio’s Pininterest postings of cartoons and other items. On July 7, he wrote,"i wont stop till changes are made, people are held accountable, careers are ended, & these kids get the justice they deserve.” The original custody case was assigned to Rancilio but heard by a Friend of Court referee, according to court records. Killian was born in December 2015, and Vanderhagen and the mother broke up in May 2017. The mother got custody, and Vanderhagen was awarded visitation. Vanderhagen in July 2017 filed a motion for full custody, claiming the mother was denying him visitation, and failing to take Killian to his medical appointments and therapy as required because he was born with Hydrocephalus. Vanderhagen was awarded joint custody on Aug. 28, and by that time the mother moved to Davison near Flint. About three weeks later, Sept. 19, Vanderhagen filed for sole legal and physical custody, accusing the mother of more medical neglect when Killian was under her care. The case was scheduled to go in front of Rancilio on Oct. 3, but Killian died Sept. 22. Rancilio declined to comment when reached by The Macomb Daily.
Not a big fan of free speech, are you pig boy? The judge felt "uncomfortable" so she retaliated by slapping a half-million dollar bond on the guy who just lost his child due to the ineptitude of the local justice system. There was no threat. “Dada back to digging and you best believe I’m gonna dig up all the skeletons in this court’s closet,” is what the grieving father wrote on Facebook. Chances are the judge was corrupt and didn't want her dirty little secrets revealed, On August 12, Vanderhagen’s attorney, Nicholas Somberg, tried to have the ridiculous half-million dollar bail lowered, but he was denied. Somberg told The Macomb Daily the bond is “completely unprecedented” at a level reserved for “gangters, killers and robbers.” “He has no record, he has never threatened anybody,” he said of his client. What’s more, Somberg noted, is that this treatment is a complete violation of Vanderhagen’s First Amendment right.
Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen. Check my post again, criminal cocksucker. I never made an opinion, either way. All I did was post an article, about the same incident you posted, that was written by someone that doesn’t hate cops or love drugs. So kindly fuck off... and die, agenda boy.
#2. To: GrandIsland (#1)
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.
#3. To: Deckard (#2)
Not a big fan of free speech, are you
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]