This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The McAlinden family lost their home to a fire in early November lost her battle with cancer on Thanksgiving Day leaving her family grappling with loss upon loss As the Grosse Pointe Woods family struggles to adjust, community members are helping lessen the burden. A neighbor started a GoFundMe online donation effort that "I want to thank the community from the bottom of my heart," said Michael McAlinden "They've been so generous and loving and helping me through a very difficult time in my life." was diagnosed with breast cancer last year The family initially was optimistic she would beat the disease and she would be there with Michael to raise their three daughters Christina spent the last few months hospitalized "24/7," Michael said he and the girls made what had become their usual trip to pay her a visit Michael said he noticed the smell of something hot He suspected the smell might have been coming from the lint trap in the clothes dryer and he made sure the machine was turned off before they departed that wasn't enough to prevent that part of the home from igniting a neighbor called me and said my house was on fire," Michael said By the time firefighters arrived at McAlinden's two-story rental home on Brys Drive smoke was already billowing from the structure Crews were dispatched to the home at 12:34 p.m director of public safety for Grosse Pointe Woods The house was filled with smoke when first responders made entry and then up to the second floor," Kosanke said The McAlinden family's home for the past nine years had been rendered uninhabitable "We won't be able to live there for at least a year," Michael said It was a devastating blow felt most acutely by her family but also by friends Christina had worked as a "lunch mom" and substitute at Parcells Middle School and at Mason Elementary School in the Grosse Pointe Public School System "It seems like a nightmare I can't wake up from," said Michael Community steps upAs the family struggles to adjust community members are helping lessen the burden next-door neighbor Liz Priebe started a GoFundMe online donation effort "It started as just sort of a neighborhood thing," Priebe said "We were all out watching the house burn and were like Priebe said she feels good knowing that neighbors and the community at large have the McAlindens' back who's lived next to the family since they moved there Michael said the girls have been holding up as well as can be expected "She was so proud of them and their athletics and drama through the school .. It's sad because they're at an age when they really need their mom." the family has been living with Christina's mother Michael said the money would help them rent a home while they pick up the pieces it will have to be refurnished because we lost everything except literally the clothes that were on our back," he said Memorial services for Christina were held Friday night at D.S where about 100 people gathered to pay their respects Michael said his wife would be touched by the outpouring of support "The schools and teachers have been very supportive "People I never thought would have helped have been there "It's overwhelming the amount of help and support the community has given us," Michael said Paul on the Lake of Grosse Pointe encouraged Christina's loved ones to cry freely since tears expressing grief or sadness actually clear toxins from one's body she would make a funny face to brighten their day And even as her mom's cancer spread and she had to use crutches to get around she still made it to Molly's synchronized swimming meet "I wouldn't have changed her for the world," Molly said @max_detroitnews Ishpinder Sahni, 31, of Grosse Pointe Woods, was charged with embezzling over $350,000 from a wine shop where he worked. From 2021 to 2023, the 31-year-old man was the chief operating officer at Woods Wholesale Wine in Grosse Pointe Woods. Allegedly, Sahni diverted over $350,000 in online sales into his own bank account during his employment. Sahni allegedly failed to report the income on his Michigan tax returns. The 31-year-old will appear in the Grosse Pointe Woods Municipal Court on Nov. 13 at 9 a.m. for a probable cause conference. Copyright 2024 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved. Brandon Carr is a digital content producer for ClickOnDetroit and has been with WDIV Local 4 since November 2021. Brandon is the 2015 Solomon Kinloch Humanitarian award recipient for Community Service. Click here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines TV Listings Email Newsletters RSS Feeds Contests and Rules Contact Us Careers at WDIV Closed Captioning / Audio Description Public File Current EEO Report Terms of Use Privacy Policy Do Not Sell My Info FCC Applications Copyright © 2025 ClickOnDetroit.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group Federal authorities say three Grosse Pointe Woods residents who died from drug overdoses on the same day last year thought they were buying cocaine the drugs they received were laced with fentanyl a Harper Woods woman is facing a charge in federal court for delivering the drugs to the victims that caused their fatal overdoses was arrested Wednesday after a criminal complaint was filed against her Sept accuses her of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death Porter-Craig made an initial appearance Wednesday in federal court She was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond Conditions of her bond include electronic monitoring with home detention The attorney who represented Porter-Craig at her initial appearance could not be immediately reached "Three young people lost their lives as fentanyl continues to ravage our communities," U.S Attorney Dawn Ison stated in a news release announcing the arrest which means there is no such thing as safe use of illegal drugs we will continue to pursue these cases and hold drug dealers accountable for their crimes." Grosse Pointe Woods public safety officers found two victims dead in the 1000 block of Canterbury on June 10 they found another woman dead in the 1400 block of Edmundton The complaint does not identify the victims by age or name Autopsies by the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office determined the man and the woman on Canterbury died from fentanyl toxicity and the other woman died from fentanyl and xylazine toxicity just two months before the three Grosse Pointe Woods residents died More: How to tell if someone is overdosing on fentanyl and other opioids An FBI special agent looked at the victims' cellphones interviewed friends and co-workers and executed a search warrant on Porter-Craig's cellphone after it was seized from her in March It states text message conversations show the three victims and another friend planned to go to a music show that night in Detroit Outgoing communications on each of the victims' phones abruptly stopped sometime after 11 p.m shortly after Porter-Craig allegedly had been to each residence It states one of the victims had Porter-Craig's number stored in her phone under the name Aeriann and their text conversations showed that Porter-Craig previously sold cocaine to the victim and discussed the victim paying for drugs through Venmo The victim's Venmo account showed that she transferred about $1,405 to Porter-Craig's Venmo account between June 29 2023 in 22 separate transactions that were under $100 each payments the FBI agent believes are consistent with the payment for small amounts of narcotics Porter-Craig texted the victim to let her know she would have drugs available The victim responded that she was going to a music venue and was in a hurry but Porter-Craig assured her she would be able to bring her some on time It adds the victim later told Porter-Craig she was home and re-sent her address on Edmundton Porter-Craig texted the victim "Outside," with the victim writing and the victim called the other female victim at 11:15 p.m. there are multiple missed calls and texts from friends with no replies," according to the complaint suggesting the victim on Edmundton died soon after she called the other female victim and ingested the dose of narcotics that Porter-Craig allegedly delivered More: Feds: Leaders of large-scale drug network in Michigan, other states indicted The special agent wrote in the complaint that about four hours after Porter-Craig was at the victim's house she sent two text messages to her phone: "'Ok' The male victim's phone also had multiple text exchanges about drugs with the phone number for Porter-Craig though the male victim did not save it as a named contact followed by a text message conversation that started at 11:13 p.m Porter-Craig let him know she was "Outside," and a few minutes later she texted him that he had given her $125 instead of $100 The male victim called Porter-Craig at 11:41 p.m. The call was the last outgoing communication from his phone had her last outgoing communication from her phone at 11:37 p.m White material found on a tray next to her body found the presence of cocaine and fentanyl and the medical examiner concluded she and the male victim each died from fentanyl toxicity Porter-Craig allegedly exchanged text messages with another drug customer June 14 writing: "This is why I'm firm on my prices because I pay for y'all to be safe atp it's not even all about the money y’all have become family and this is the very shit I was trying to avoid happening I'm so hurt off this one." Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com Support local journalism. Subscribe to the Free Press Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters Grosse Pointe Woods — A key Grosse Pointe Woods intersection is getting a major overhaul later this spring to make "the most accident prone" section safer and reduce accidents Grosse Pointe Woods officials are in the process of securing easements to redo the intersection of Vernier and Mack Pedestrian crossings will feature push buttons and the intersection will be reconfigured to have no direct left turns The goal is to make the intersection safer given its location next to two schools said Grosse Pointe Woods City Administrator Frank Schulte "This is the most accident-prone intersection in the city," said Schulte Officials have been plotting for years to improve the Vernier and Mack intersection which had 66 injury accidents in the last two years Racheal Melton visits her grandmother often in Grosse Pointe Woods and she said it "sounded like a good idea" to improve the intersection "I think Mack is kind of weird in general around here," Melton said who lives in Roseville and was at a Mobil gas station at the corner of Mack and Vernier on Sunday "There's a lot of traffic and people trying to park on the street Doris Clellan lives in nearby Detroit but frequents small businesses on Mack near the intersection "People just seem to be going too fast for two lanes," she said Some people who work in nearby stores said there often are fender benders and near misses at the intersection particularly as vehicles turn onto Vernier the Vernier Road and Sunningdale Park intersection will be improved with a mast arm traffic signal and a signalized pedestrian crossing What are called Rapid Rectangular Flashing Beacons also are planned on Mack Avenue at the intersections of Hampton and Ridgemont roads to "improve the visibility and awareness of the pedestrians to the drivers which will improve the safety of the current crossings," according to an agreement between Wayne County and Grosse Pointe Woods The updates will be paid for with grants and American Rescue Plan Act dollars Wayne County awarded about $380,000 for the project last fall The city also was awarded a $720,000 Michigan Department of Transportation federal safety grant for the updates and a $600,000 Safe Routes to School grant Along with the new configuration eliminating left-hand turns In a letter to residents in the city's 2025 calendar Grosse Pointe Woods Mayor Arthur Bryant said the plans will "completely redesign" the intersection Schulte said work likely is to begin in the middle or near the end of April and the city hopes to have it completed by Labor Day GROSSE POINTE WOODS, Mich. – A man accused of the armed robbery of a teen in Harper Woods has been taken into custody. According to authorities, the armed robbery happened at about 9:30 a.m. Aug. 10, near the intersection of Harper Avenue and Lennon Street. Police said they located the suspect on Aug. 15 and with the assistance of Grosse Pointe Woods Police, he was taken into custody near Mack Avenue and Country Club Drive in Grosse Pointe Woods. Police said the stolen property has been recovered. Thomas Travon Mctyer Jr. was charged Saturday, Aug. 17, with armed robbery. His bond was set at $50,000. He is expected to return to court for a preliminary examination Sept. 4. Dane Kelly is an Oreo enthusiast and producer who has spent the last seven years covering Michigan news and stories. 2024 at 9:19 am ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Ishpinder Sahni was charged with three counts of embezzlement over $100,000 three counts of using a computer to commit a crime and three counts of failure to file taxes MI — A Grosse Pointe Woods man is facing charges after stealing more than $350,000 from a wine shop where he worked according to the Michigan Attorney General's Office He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the charges of embezzlement and using a computer to commit a crime He faces an up to an additional five years in prison if convicted on charges of failing to file taxes Officials said Sahni worked as the chief operating officer at Woods Wholesale Wine located on Mack Avenue near Vernier in Grosse Pointe Woods officials said Sahni diverted over $350,000 in online sales into his own bank account He did not report that income on his state tax returns "Embezzlement is a serious crime that can devastate small businesses and have a ripple effect throughout their communities," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said "My office will continue to hold employees who steal from their employers accountable to protect business owners and their customers." 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