Here's where notable court cases stand in the greater Holland area
WEST MICHIGAN — Several notable court cases are still pending in Ottawa and Allegan counties.
Here are expected court dates:
Ottawa County 20th Circuit Court
Anthony Jon Meyer has a hearing scheduled for 8 a.m. Monday, Dec. 18. The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office says Meyer brought a homemade “salute cannon” to a Fourth of July celebration on July 3 in Park Township. The device exploded, killing local Jana Daniels and injuring nine others. Meyer is charged with manslaughter.
The jury trial for Stephen Chesla is scheduled for Jan. 30, 2024. Chesla, of Coopersville, was convicted of criminal sexual conduct after his step-granddaughter accused him of pulling down her pants and underwear while she slept and touching her inappropriately. Chesla was sentenced to 25-40 years in prison in 2021. In July, the Michigan Court of Appeals granted Chesla a new trial on the grounds he did not have adequate legal representation.
The jury trial for Cinecca Madison is scheduled to begin Feb. 20, 2024. Madison is charged with open murder, assault with intent to murder and two felony firearm charges in the June 2022 shooting death of 19-year-old Antory Burrell. Demontae Knight Jr., 18, was also shot and told police he played dead to avoid being shot again. Burrell and Knight Jr. were shot while riding their bikes on 16th Street and College Avenue, near Hope College, in Holland. Police say all three knew each other.
The next hearing for Juan Sandro Cabrera has not been scheduled. Cabrera was found guilty of killing 14-year-old TJ Wells in a gang-related incident at the Hampton Inn in Holland Township in 2019. Cabrera was 18 at the time of the shooting. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
In March, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Cabrera should be resentenced in the case. In 2022, the court ruled automatic life sentences for 18-year-old murderers violated the state constitution's ban on "cruel or unusual" punishment.
The next hearing for Juan Nunez has also not been scheduled. Nunez was convicted of murdering Pereddies Restaurant employee Scott Anderson, 22, during a robbery gone wrong in 1997. Nunez was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Nunez was 16 at the time, making him Ottawa County’s only “juvenile lifer.” Nunez was granted resentencing in 2016 and was again given life without the possibility of parole. That sentence was vacated by the Michigan Supreme Court in December 2022 and remanded for a third sentencing.
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Allegan County 57th District Court
Scott Simmons is scheduled to appear for a motion hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 29. Simmons is charged with seven counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of child sexually abusive material – aggravated possession, one count of using a computer to commit a crime and one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Simmons was fired as Allegan Public Schools aquatics director in October for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a student. According to court documents, Simmons told the superintendent he was “forced” into the situation and that it was “an elaborate scheme to destroy him”
Allegan County 48th Circuit Court
A jury trial for Thaddeus Cortrez Wilson is scheduled to begin Jan. 9, 2024. Wilson is charged with nine counts, including one count of homicide-open murder. Wilson is accused of shooting and killing Joseph Roberts in June following a party.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Wilson had a large amount of drugs and cash stowed in a “special coat.” At the party, someone took the coat, accidentally or intentionally is unclear, and Wilson became enraged, leading to the shooting.
— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@sentinel-standard.com. Follow him on Twitter @SalsaEvan.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Here's where notable court cases stand in the greater Holland area
