BY MIKE KILLLBREATH
CCN Executive Editor
MUNDY TWP. (CCN) — A man who led Metro Police Authority officers on a wild chase through Burton and into Davison Township last winter before exchanging gunfire with authorities was convicted by a Genesee County jury).
Robert Nowotny, 40, faces up to life in prison when returning to court for sentencin
BY MIKE KILLLBREATH
CCN Executive Editor
MUNDY TWP. (CCN) — A man who led Metro Police Authority officers on a wild chase through Burton and into Davison Township last winter before exchanging gunfire with authorities was convicted by a Genesee County jury).
Robert Nowotny, 40, faces up to life in prison when returning to court for sentencing on Feb. 2 before Genesee Circiut Court Judge Mark Latchana.
Nowotny was described by Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton as a Swartz Creek man in a press release although he earlier when arrested had been listed as living in the Detroit area.
Court records show Nowotny was found guilty on four felonies related to the Feb. 27 incident in which he led police on an 14-mile chase from Mundy Township to Davison and fired shots at police. The charges were Assault With Intent to Murder, Fleeing and Eluding Police Third Degree, Felony Firearm and Carrying a Concealed Weapon.
Leyton said Investigative reports and testimony at trial revealed that officers from the Metro Police Authority responded to citizen reports of a suspicious van driving in a neighborhood with a very loud exhaust in the vicinity of Linden Road and Hill Road.
Police spotted the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop in the parking lot of the Meijer store on Hill Road. The driver, later identified as Nowotny, lowered his driver’s side window about an inch and refused to comply with an officer’s instruction to provide identification. As officers were talking to Nowotny, he put his van in gear and began driving away. Metro Flint Police Authority Chief Matt Bade said at a March press conference with Prosecutor Leyton that Nowotny had a warrant out for his arrest.
Officers got back into their cruisers and began chasing Nowotny north on Torrey Road and east on Bristol Road. As officers were chasing Nowotny at speeds which never exceeded 40 miles per hour, Nowotny ran numerous red lights and crossed into the lanes of approaching traffic. At one point early in the chase, the rear driver’s side wheel on his van came off and it caused a continuous streak of sparks from the rear area of the van as it dragged on the pavement the entire rest of the chase.
The rear of the van eventually became engulfed in flames and Nowotny stopped near M-15 and Bristol Road in Davison Township. With police vehicles slowly approaching the scene of the engulfed van with nearby departments joining the chase and setting up road blocks, Nowotny exited his vehicle and immediately turned toward police and pointed a pistol at them and emptied ten rounds of ammunition which penetrated an officer’s windshield and car seat, barely missing the officer.
The officer exited his cruiser and returned fire, striking Nowotny who fell to the pavement. Nowotny was immediately apprehended and handcuffed.
“This incident shows the life-threatening danger police officers may face at any time, even during a routine traffic stop,” said Prosecutor Leyton after the verdict was announced. He added: “Fortunately and miraculously, no officers or citizens were killed or injured.”
Prosecutor Leyton credited Assistant Prosecutor Sam Fleet and his team of support staff for successfully taking the case to trial and the brave work of the men and women from the Metro Police Authority and assisting agencies.
PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is Metro Police Authority Chief Matt Bade (at left) and Prosecutor David Leyton during a March press conference to announce felony charges against Robert Nowoty.
Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025
BY MIKE KILLLBREATH
CCN Executive Editor
FLINT (CCN) — Flint's embattled 1st Ward City Councilman Leon El-Alamin will stand trial next year on alleged domestic assault charges on March 11. That was decided Tuesday (Dec. 23, 2025) by Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Khary Hanible.
Judge Hanible also denied a motion by
Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025
BY MIKE KILLLBREATH
CCN Executive Editor
FLINT (CCN) — Flint's embattled 1st Ward City Councilman Leon El-Alamin will stand trial next year on alleged domestic assault charges on March 11. That was decided Tuesday (Dec. 23, 2025) by Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Khary Hanible.
Judge Hanible also denied a motion by El-Alamin to remove his tether after attorney Rolland Sizemore said restrictions are hurting his client's :ability to make a living."
Judge Hanible did rule that El-Alamin can return to the Mt. Morris Township house he owns. It's where the alleged assault took place and attorney Sizemore's filing for his client said his ex-girlfriend has not been there in weeks.
Multiple court filings by El-Alamin used the Mt. Morris Township address as his home.
If he lives there and not in the City of Flint, he's not only ineligible of serving on the city council — he is guilty of a felony under state election laws for committing perjury on his application to get on the ballot earlier this year when winning a special election to fill the remainder of a term by the late Eric Mays. El-Alamin was appointed to replace Mays in March of last year after Mays passed away in February 2024.
Flint City Councilwoman Tonya Burns of the 5th Ward told The Daily Gazette that the alleged beating victim of El-Alamin said while hospitalized that said she had lived off and on at the Mt. Morris Township address for about 10 years.
It was her story to Mt. Morris Township police that led to Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton filing misdemeanor domestic violence charges against El-Alamin, along with a felony count for "Assault with Intent to do Great Bodily Harm Less Than Murder by Strangulation."
MCL 750.84 cites the more serious felony count as involving "intentionally impeding someone's breathing or blood flow by applying pressure to the neck/throat or blocking the nose/mouth, with the aim of causing substantial injury, short of murder." This charge elevates domestic violence or simple assault cases to potential significant prison time of up to 10 years legal experts tell The Daily Gazette that it's treated seriously, strictly due to the high risk of death or severe injury, even without visible marks.
The alleged victim in this case had serious marks indicating strangulation, according to Prosecutor Leyton.
Councilwoman Burns has also called into question why more than a million dollars in grant money has gone to El-Alamin since becoming a council member. She alleges that most of it has been steered to him through Mayor Sheldon Neeley and his supporters on the council.
In a social media post shortly after Judge Hanible ruled that El-Alamin can return to the house in Mt. Morris Township, she posted on Facebook: "Flint City Council members are required to live within our wards. The home he wants to return to is located in Mt., Morris Township that has been set on fire three times within a two-week period. "
Flint community activist Art Woodson has pointed out other funding discrepancies that he argues are "clear violations of the law" and is pushing for Councilman El-Alamin to be arrested. He went to Tuesday's (Dec. 23, 2025) hearing and made a social media post afterward that said: "Let's put the heat on him. i do not like an elected official that straight up lies."
Councilman El-Alamin has not issued any comments to The Daily Gazette since the July 10 incident when first exclusively reporting the incident before charges were handed down.
(See related story: Editor's Notebook opinion on troubled city councilman)
PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is Flint City Councilman Leon El-Alamin.
SPORTS SECTION
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A popular long-time teacher and coach from the old Flint Central High School has passed away. Joe Eufinger, 80, was best known as head coach of the Indians. His coaching career was capped by induction into the Greater Flint Sports Hall of Fame and the Michigan High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame. A story is in today's Metro Section
A popular long-time teacher and coach from the old Flint Central High School has passed away. Joe Eufinger, 80, was best known as head coach of the Indians. His coaching career was capped by induction into the Greater Flint Sports Hall of Fame and the Michigan High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame. A story is in today's Metro Section and columnist Marty Embry remembers him in today's Sports Section.
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