I don't know how this magistrate or the cop can sleep at night. They probably
have no conscience...
Brigitte




From: "Tom Hardin" <htexastom@...>
Subject:
Officer charged in death of teen


--------------------------------------------------------------------------


Officer charged in death of teen

BY BEN SCHMITT and AMBER HUNT MARTIN
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

February 1, 2005


Devastated family members stood up Monday in 36th District Court after a
magistrate freed a Detroit cop who is accused of killing a 19-year-old Sterling
Heights man while driving drunk.


"Your honor, I object to this bond," said Rock Shaina, whose 19-year-old nephew,
Marvin Shaina, was killed Sunday in the 2:30 a.m. crash in Detroit.


Magistrate Thomas Shannon was unmoved; he set a $10,000 personal bond and Steven
Compton was released.


"You can object outside," Shannon said. "Bye, bye."


Compton, a 24-year-old from Harper Woods, was charged Monday with drunken
driving and causing the death of another and manslaughter with a motor vehicle,
both 15-year felonies upon conviction, after crashing into Shaina, a pedestrian,
at the I-75 service drive near Woodward downtown.


Police said Compton drove against one-way traffic on Park, after leaving the
Town Pump Tavern, and struck Shaina, who was walking to get a friend's car.
Compton was off duty.


After turning right onto the service drive, Compton hit a patch of ice and his
2004 Ford F-150 truck spun 360 degrees, then struck Shaina and smashed him into
a wall, police said. Shaina's body was trapped under the truck when police
arrived. He was dead at the scene.


Compton, a 9th (Gratiot) Precinct officer, refused to talk to police but
registered 0.11 blood-alcohol content on a Breathalyzer at the 1st (Beaubien)
Precinct, police said. The level at which someone can be convicted of drunken
driving in Michigan is 0.08.


Family members said they were forced to keep the casket closed because of the
damage to Shaina's face.


At the Southfield Funeral Home on Monday, Shaina's angel-adorned casket was
flanked by 19 floral arrangements -- one for each year he lived. His mother,
Mondiha Shaina, flung her body across the closed lid, pushing aside the red
roses placed on top.


At times she wept silently. Other times, she fell to her knees, wailed loudly
and clasped a framed picture of her son to her chest.


"I want to see my baby!" she cried. "I want to see my baby!"


Martin Shaina, Marvin's 23-year-old brother, said: "I can't even see him for one
last time. My brother was a beautiful, loving person."


Marvin Shaina was born in Baghdad, Iraq. He was about 10 when he moved with his
parents and two brothers to Detroit, where they lived for a few years before
moving to Sterling Heights. His friends said he was a whiz at video games and a
neighborhood basketball champion.


Rock Shaina, his uncle, was still seething Monday evening at the bond set by
Shannon.


"Believe me, he is a threat to society," he said of Compton. "He's supposed to
serve and protect. Instead, he killed my nephew."


Compton's attorney, Elias Muawad of Birmingham, said the officer has no past
criminal record and posed no threat. Muawad, who appeared in court with a bail
bondsman, also pointed out that Compton has two children and a third on the way.


"It's an accident," Muawad said. "The street was slippery with ice. Weather
played a huge role in this."


Marvin Shaina worked as a cook at a restaurant in Greektown. He was at another
restaurant with friends after work early Sunday and volunteered to get their car
from a nearby parking lot, family members said.


"He never came back," Rock Shaina said.


Although Compton has no criminal record, he has an extensive driving record.
Records from the Michigan Secretary of State's Office indicate his license has
been suspended four times for speeding and other driving-related offenses.


Police reports indicate he was speeding when he struck Shaina, although no exact
speed was determined. Compton had two male friends in his truck at the time of
the crash. A witness told police she saw one of the men throw a bottle after the
crash.


Shaina's funeral will be at 10 a.m. today at the Mother of God Church, 25603
Berg Road in Southfield.


Contact BEN SCHMITT at 313-223-4296 or schmitt@....

Copyright © 2005 Detroit Free Press Inc.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]