Two current and four retired Detroit police officers have been charged with extortion for accepting bribes from owners of automobile collision shops.
The bribes were reportedly accepted in exchange for referring stolen and abandoned vehicles recovered in the City of Detroit to their shops, acting U.S. Attorney Daniel Lemisch announced.
The current officers were indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury and the retired officers pleaded guilty to committing extortion while they were DPD officers.
All six officers were actively employed with DPD at the time of the alleged offenses.
The officers are:
- Deonne Dotson, 45, current DPD officer indicted on six counts of extortion.
- Charles Wills, 52, current officer indicted on four counts of extortion.
- James Robertson, 45, retired officer who pleaded guilty to an information charging two counts of extortion.
- Jamil Martin, 46, retired officer who pleaded guilty to an information charging one count of extortion.
- Martin Tutt, 29, retired officer who pleaded guilty to an information charging two counts of extortion.
- Anthony Careathers, 52, retired officer who pleaded guilty to an information charging one count of extortion.
"The vast majority of Detroit police officers are courageous, dedicated, superb public servants," Lemisch said. "The charged defendants should have put the people of Detroit first, rather than lining their own pockets."
Dotson will be arraigned in federal court on Dec. 19, while the arraignment date for Wills is to be determined.
Each of the extortion charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
