9 & 10 News
May 26, 2021
Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Wednesday that a wrongful conviction in Oakland County has been vacated.
Gilbert Lee Poole, Jr. was wrongful convicted of murder in 1989 and DNA evidence from the scene exonerates him after nearly 32 years in prison.
The conviction of Poole has been vacated after collaboration between the Michigan Department of Attorney General’s Conviction Integrity Unit and the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School Innocence Project.
Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Rae Lee Chabot set aside the conviction Wednesday morning during a hearing held via Zoom.
After the Department of Attorney General formed the CIU, Poole’s Cooley Innocence Project attorney Marla Mitchell-Cichon asked the unit to review Poole’s case. Following its own investigation, the CIU, led by Assistant Attorney General Robyn Frankel, moved to have Poole’s conviction vacated and requested dismissal of all charges.
9 & 10 News
May 19, 2021
22-year-old Maxwell Wyckoff was arraigned in March on the following:
One count of converting a semiautomatic weapon to an automatic weapon, 10-year felony; and
One count of possessing a muffler or silencer device, 5-year felony.
The plea includes the assurance that Wyckoff will cooperate with the Department’s ongoing investigation into the Wolverine Watchmen.
Wyckoff’s weapons charges are not connected to the alleged plot against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
As part of the plea agreement, the Department preliminarily consented to sentencing under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act.
If accepted by the court, Wyckoff will serve probation and have the opportunity to have the conviction expunged if he completes probation successfully.
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A member of a militia group accused of being involved in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pleaded guilty Tuesday to separate, unrelated charges in Oakland County Circuit Court.
Maxwell Wyckoff, 22, pleaded guilty to one count of converting a semiautomatic to an automatic weapon and one count of possessing a silencer device. The felonies are punishable by up to four and five years in prison, respectively, according to Attorney General Dana Nessel s office.
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Wyckoff s plea included an assurance that he would cooperate with Nessel s investigation into the Wolverine Watchmen and some members alleged plot to kidnap Whitmer.
Michigan man turns on militia, agrees to cooperate in Gov. Whitmer kidnapping plot prosecution
Updated May 19, 2021;
Posted May 19, 2021
An exhibit filed in federal court by the U.S. Attorneys office in connection with a kidnapping conspiracy case against several men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (U.S. Attorneys Office)
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In exchange for leniency, a Michigan man has agreed to help prosecutors in their efforts to convict fellow members of a militia group accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Maxwell Wyckoff, 22, of Clarkston, a Wolverine Watchmen militia member whose associates are accused in the kidnap plot, is charged with converting a semiautomatic weapon to an automatic weapon, a felony punishable by up to four years in prison; and possessing a muffler or silencer device, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.