The News Room [News Release]

Sheriff Contact: John Roach: 313-224-0615
Release Date: Thursday, October 14, 2004

Sheriff’s “Last Call” unit gets funded for 2nd year as it approaches 900-arrest mark --- News comes as deputies nab woman on 7-year-old manslaughter warrant stemming from 1997 drunken driving accident

A police squad created last year as a pilot project to apprehend Wayne County’s most wanted and egregious drunken driving scofflaws will be able to continue its work for at least another year, Sheriff Warren Evans announced today. Evans said Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s office notified him recently that the $562,000 grant for his five-member Last Call unit would be extended for a second year because of its tremendous success.

After 12 months in operation, the Last Call unit has made close to 900 arrests of individuals who were wanted on drunken driving-related warrants, nearly three times Evans’ initial projection of 350. Many of those being arrested face felony charges because they have three or more drunken driving convictions, but still fail to show for court or continually violate their probation.

Because of the good news, Evans said his officers also can continue to arrest people like Barbara Lynette Phillips, 51, of Detroit, who has been wanted for seven years on an alcohol related negligent manslaughter warrant stemming from a 1997 car accident. She is being arraigned today in 36th Dist. Court.

“I am convinced that Ms. Phillips never would have faced a judge and the victim’s family never would have had a chance to receive justice if it was not for the Last Call unit,” Evans said. “Unfortunately, local police agencies lack the resources to follow up on many of these cases and people fall through the cracks. That’s what makes the work these officers are doing so important.”

In announcing the Last Call Unit last October, Evans revealed the alarming fact that there are more than 7,000 such people in Wayne County wanted for skipping out on their court dates or violating their probation. Since that time, four deputies and one sergeant have worked each day to track these people down at their homes and jobs and bringing them directly before a judge. According to a review of many of the cases thus far, a large percentage of those arrested by the Last Call unit are getting jail time, instead of probation.

“There is no other group of officers like this in the state of Michigan and perhaps the nation,” Evans said. “I hope to find a way to make this unit a permanent fixture, but I also hope other agencies will look at what we are doing and replicate it.”

On Wednesday, deputies also arrested five other individuals on felony warrants that have had at least three prior drunken driving convictions, including:

	Victor Heath Farley, 33 Resident of Taylor Two-time convicted drunken driver, picked up on a warrant for failing to appear in court. Previous convictions: October 2001 January 2003 September 2003
	Alban Hasankolli, 28 Resident of Lincoln Park Three-time convicted drunken driver, picked up on a warrant for violating his probation. Previous convictions June 1997 December 1997 March 2001
	Homer Moore, 50 Resident of Carleton, MI Three-time convicted drunken driver, picked up on a warrant for violating his probation. Previous convictions October 1990 June 2001 [also had controlled substance] January 2002

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