Thursday, October 4, 2012
Bashara murder trial moves forward to Wayne County Circuit Court.
Joe Gentz, the handyman charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the January strangulation death of Grosse Pointe Park's Jane E. Bashara, waived his right to a preliminary exam this morning, according to a report by Maria Miller, spokeswoman for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. In a short proceeding before 36th District Court Chief Judge Kenneth King, Gentz said he understood his rights and waived the preliminary examination. According to the Detroit Free Press, after the hearing Gentz’s attorney, Susan Reed, told reporters that there wasn't a need to hold a preliminary exam and that currently there were no plea negotiations with prosecutors. If convicted, Gentz is facing up to life in prison on both of …
Thursday, September 13, 2012
The judge heard arguments early Thursday in Third Circuit Court on a bond reduction request from Bob Bashara's attorney. Prosecutors oppose any change, saying his behavior since being in jail has continued to be of concern.
Bob Bashara will remain in custody pending the outcome of a brief hearing Thursday in Third Circuit Court in which his attorney requested a reduction in his $15 million cash-only bond to an amount he deems to be more reasonable. Judge Bruce Morrow will rule on the arguments heard Thursday by next Tuesday, Sept. 18, he said, declaring the brief hearing concluded after Bashara's attorney and prosecutors gave their reasons for and against a bond reduction. Bashara's attorney, Mark Kriger, requested the bond reduction in a motion filed earlier this week. Among his arguments is that the current bond is unreasonable and only meant to keep Bashara in custody for the duration of the case. Bashara is charged with solicitation to murder. He is …
Thursday, August 23, 2012
In a brief hearing early Thursday, attorneys and the judge handling Bob Bashara's solicitation of murder case set a November trial date and discussed procedural issues.
Bob Bashara, wearing a suit in Third Circuit Court early Thursday, continually wrote during his brief hearing--to the point the judge asked what he was doing. Bashara paused momentarily and answered the judge, saying he was making some notes for himself. That was essentially the only time he spoke, addressed the judge or looked at the judge. Bashara is charged wtih solicitation of murder. He is accused of paying someone to kill Joe Gentz, the man charged with first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the strangulation death of Bashara's late wife, Jane Bashara. Gentz has told investigators that he was hired by Bashara to kill Jane Bashara. Bob Bashara was arrested five months after her body was found in Detroit on the …
Monday, August 13, 2012
Joe Gentz, the man charged with first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the January strangulation death of Grosse Pointe Park's Jane E. Bashara, will have his preliminary exam another time.
The preliminary exam for Joe Gentz, who is charged in the January strangulation death of Jane E. Bashara, has been adjourned at the request of his court-appointed attorney Susan Reed, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. Gentz had been scheduled to appear before the judge Monday afternoon in 36th District Court in Detroit for his preliminary exam—the hearing in which prosecutors introduce the evidence against the accused and the judge determines whether it's sufficient enough for the prosecutor to continue pursuing the case. Judge Kenneth J. King signed an order early Monday to adjourn the hearing following a request by his attorney, according to Maria Miller, the spokeswoman for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. A new …
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
During his first appearance with his new attorney, Bob Bashara waived the formal reading of his charges and entered a not guilty plea in Third Circuit Court early Tuesday.
In a brief hearing early Tuesday, Bob Bashara appeared before Judge Timothy M. Kenny and entered a not guilty plea on the single count of solicitation to murder. This was his second arraignment in Third Circuit Court in Detroit and his first appearance with his new attorney, Mark Kriger. The arraignment scheduled for last week was adjourned to Tuesday so Kriger could take over the case from attorney David Griem. Griem and Bashara both expressed an interest in discontinuing their relationship in the case in 36th District Court last month but a judge ordered Griem to remain on the case and to help with the transition to a new attorney. Bashara is charged with hiring a hitman to kill Joe Gentz, the man who is accused of killing Bashara's wife…
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Bob Bashara was bound over to stand trial in Wayne County Circuit Court on charges that he tried to hire a hitman to murder the man accused of killing his wife, Jane Bashara.
Grosse Pointe Park businessman Bob Bashara was bound over Tuesday to stand trial in Wayne County Circuit Court for allegedly trying to hire a jailhouse hitman to murder the man charged with killing his wife. Wayne County prosecutors called three witnesses during the nearly four-hour preliminary exam before 36th District Court Chief Judge Kenneth J. King. The testimony of the witnesses portrayed Bashara as a man who sought out a hitman and was paranoid that his conversations were being recorded. Over the course of three meetings with Steve Tibaudo, the owner of Steve's Furniture and Appliances on East Warren and Chalmers in Detroit, Bashara is alleged to set up the hit of Joe Gentz in the Wayne County Jail. Joe Gentz is a handyman who is …
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Despite being a mutual motion by David Griem and Bob Bashara, a 36th District Court judge ruled Thursday that Griem must remain on the case and the preliminary exam for next week must go on. Griem was ordered to help any new attorney hired in the case.
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Thursday, July 19, 2012
Less than a week before his preliminary exam in 36th District Court, Bob Bashara's attorney David Griem sought to be relieved of the case due to a change in the pair's relationship. Bashara is accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill Joe Gentz, a handyman who is facing charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder of Jane Bashara, Bob Bashara's wife. Both Bob Bashara and Joe Gentz are being held at separate Wayne County lockup facilities. Gentz was most recently found competent to stand trial after undergoing two evaluations. Bob Bashara agrees with his attorney's motion, according to Local 4 WDIV, which reported that Bashara is scheduled to interview new potential attorneys today and Friday. Griem's motion was filed Wednesday and …
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
A second competency evaluation completed by a private doctor found similar findings to that of the state doctor regarding Joe Gentz, who is charged in the January strangulation death of Jane Bashara.
While Joe Gentz does have some intellectual deficits, none are so severe as to impact his decisions and understanding of the charges he is facing in the January strangulation death of Jane Bashara, according to findings by a second, private forensic psychologist who evaluated him. The findings were released Wednesday afternoon in 36th District Court by Gentz's court-appointed attorney, Susan Reed. The psychologist, Charles R. Clark, found that Gentz does not exhibit signs of bipolar disorder, which had been a diagnosis earlier in his life. Nor does Gentz exhibit signs of psychosis or other psychiatric impairments, according to the findings Reed read in court. Gentz demonstrated behavior and attention during the evaluation that the doctor …
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
The handyman charged in the January strangulation death of Grosse Pointe Park resident Jane E. Bashara will have a competency exam Wednesday before 36th District Court Judge Kenneth J. King.
A second competency hearing for the handyman who worked for Bob Bashara has been rescheduled for Wednesday in 36th District Court before Chief Judge Kenneth J. King. Joseph Gentz had been found competent to stand trial in the murder and conspiracy charges related to the strangulation death of Jane E. Bashara. Gentz's court-appointed attorney, Susan Reed, requested the second competency evaluation by an independent doctor. The hearing was originally scheduled for July 23. Gentz, most recently of Grosse Pointe Park and formerly of St. Clair Shores, has been housed at Dickerson Lockup Facility since his March 2 arrest in Jane Bashara's January homicide.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Bob Bashara appeared in 36th District Court via video-conference Wednesday for his arraignment for soliciting someone to kill Joe Gentz. He will appear in court again July 24.
Joe Gentz may not have been the only target of Bob Bashara's attempt to contract to kill, according to information presented by Wayne County Deputy Prosecutor Lisa Lindsey Wednesday in 36th District Court. Bob Bashara entered a plea of not guilty during his arraignment, where he appeared via video-conference for a single count of solicitation for murder against Joe Gentz--the man charged with first degree murder in Bashara's wife's death. Jane Bashara, who was strangled to death in January, would have turned 57 Friday. Lindsey argued for a $25 million cash-only bond before Magistrate Charles W. Anderson III, providing a litany of information about the case, including that Rachel Gillett and another unnamed witness may have also been …
darylatchison
2:43 am on Thursday, August 9, 2012
He must be from Detroit...Grosse pointe wife killer... more ›