Trial set for police officer charged with torturing ex-girlfriendObserver
BY TIFFANY L. PARKS
July 17, 2008
The jury trial for the suspended Detroit police officer accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend has been set for Aug. 13. Gary Allen Steele, 42, has been detained on a $5 million bond since the March 4 incident. Steele allegedly hit Kimberly Ann Golematis with a baseball bat before firing a gun near her head... The trial will take place before Judge Ulysses W. Boykin in Wayne County Circuit Court. [Full article here]
EARLIER INFO:
On March 5, 2008 Canton Police Department obtained a 7 count felony warrant against Officer Steele charging him with:
- Torture
- Assault with Intent to Commit Murder
- Assault with Intent to do Great Bodily Harm less than Murder
- Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (Felonious Assault)
- Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (Felonious Assault)
- Weapons-Firearms-Discharge in or at a building
- Weapons-Felony Firearm
Judge refuses to drop charges in torture case
The Observer
TIFFANY L. PARKS tlparks@hometownlife.com
April 13, 2008
As his ex-girlfriend testified about the day he allegedly assaulted her with a baseball bat and fired a gun near her head, Gary Allen Steele sat with his arms crossed and shook his head. "Pow. Pow. Pow," Kimberly Ann Golematis said from the witness stand Friday morning at 35th District Court when describing the moment Steele pulled out his revolver and fired the weapon. Looking directly at Steele, a suspended Detroit police officer, Golematis held her right hand like a gun and testified that he told her, "I will (expletive) kill you"... Judge Ronald W. Lowe denied the request to lower Steele's $5 million bond.
"Until this shakes out, (Golematis) is entitled to walk the Earth in no fear of him,"
he said, adding that he fears for the Canton woman's safety because she's the main thing standing between Steele and his freedom... "I was not an angel by any means," she said. "I wasn't gift wrapping his stuff." With their interaction already tense, Golematis said Steele became violent when he was preparing to leave and she mentioned his Santa Claus statue that was in her garage. "I said don't forget Santa," she said, adding that he then told her to keep it. Upon saying that she didn't want it, Golematis kicked the item and said Steele responded by "freaking out." He supposedly hit her left leg with a baseball bat and then began choking her. When she fell to the ground, Golematis said she landed on the steps in the garage that led to her kitchen. "Gary Steele got on top of me and straddled me with his weight," she said, adding that he began choking her again and made several references to his former police partner, Brian Vieau, who committed suicide after killing his estranged wife, Tracy Vieau, in February 2007. "He said 'Now I know why Brian did what he did.'" Golematis said Steele fired three shots into the garage steps near the left side of her head.
After placing the gun inside her mouth and to her head, Golematis said Steele appeared to "snap" back to reality when she told him that he was hurting her. "He said 'I love you. I just love you so much. I would do anything for us.'"
Golematis testified, adding that Steele began stroking her hair and saying he should go into the home's basement to see if anything was damaged by the gunshots... Steele's attorney, David Lee, questioned her reluctance to stay in her township home due to the gunshot holes and suggested that a gun had previously been fired in her home. Golematis denied owning a gun and said there were no other gunshot holes at her residence... Julie Cook, Golematis' friend of 10 years, testified that the alleged attack is "pretty much all that (Golematis) talks about." Cook said Golematis is afraid of retaliation from other police officers and lives in a state of paranoia... "He's a good person who made a really bad choice," Golematis said... [Full article here]
MainStreet operating expenses prove too much, force Novi's Lazy Lizard out of business
The Observer
By Chris Jackett
July 10, 2008
MainStreet mainstay Lazy Lizard Cantina is no longer in business after a series of events left owner Kim Golematis on the wrong side of the locked door. The doors were locked May 16, three days after Dr. Hafeez Shaikh, a partner of the MainStreet Novi complex and manager of the Atrium of Novi, manually shut off the restaurant's gas... Shaikh also pointed out Golematis had dealt with some personal problems earlier this year when her ex-boyfriend and Detroit Police Officer Gary Steele attacked her at her Canton home March 4 after she broke off their relationship... "I'm bowing out gracefully. What's done is done. I'm OK with moving on. I don't like the way it ended... I wish them luck and I've moved on. The price we pay for peace... I just walked away from nine years of my life. I really don't have a plan right now, but that's OK because I'm home with my kids"... [Full article here]
In court
ReplyDeleteTrial set for police officer charged with torturing ex-girlfriend
Observer
BY TIFFANY L. PARKS
July 17, 2008
The jury trial for the suspended Detroit police officer accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend has been set for Aug. 13.
Gary Allen Steele, 42, has been detained on a $5 million bond since the March 4 incident. Steele allegedly hit Kimberly Ann Golematis with a baseball bat before firing a gun near her head.
The incident occurred at Golematis' Canton home in the Glengarry subdivision. The couple had ended their six-month relationship and Steele was at the residence to retrieve the last of his items when the two began arguing.
Golematis, who called the suspended officer a "good person who made a really bad choice," testified in April that Steele became violent when she kicked his Santa Claus statue and he allegedly hit her leg with the bat.
Upon falling to the ground, Golematis said Steele straddled her and made several references to his former police partner, Brian Vieau, who committed suicide after killing his estranged wife, Tracy Vieau, in February 2007.
Steele then allegedly fired three gunshots near the left side of Golematis' head.
The township woman said Steele later told her that he loved her and left her home. The charges against Steele include torture and assault with intent to murder, both felonies punishable up to life in prison, and assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, a 10-year felony.
The trial will take place before Judge Ulysses W. Boykin in Wayne County Circuit Court.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/C5/20080717/NEWS03/807170459/1110/CFP02
Judge refuses to drop charges in torture case
ReplyDeleteBy TIFFANY L. PARKS OBSERVER Staff Writer
April 13, 2008
As his ex-girlfriend testified about the day he allegedly assaulted her with a baseball bat and fired a gun near her head, Gary Allen Steele sat with his arms crossed and shook his head.
"Pow. Pow. Pow," Kimberly Ann Golematis said from the witness stand Friday morning at 35th District Court when describing the moment Steele pulled out his revolver and fired the weapon.
Looking directly at Steele, a suspended Detroit police officer, Golematis held her right hand like a gun and testified that he told her, "I will (expletive) kill you."
Steele, 42, has been bound over on seven charges stemming from the March 4 incident. In addition to rejecting the defense's claim that the charges of torture, assault with intent to murder and assault with intent to do great bodily harm were inappropriate, Judge Ronald W. Lowe denied the request to lower Steele's $5 million bond.
"Until this shakes out, (Golematis) is entitled to walk the Earth in no fear of him," he said, adding that he fears for the Canton woman's safety because she's the main thing standing between Steele and his freedom.
Lowe said Steele's occupation provided an additional element to his refusal to lower bond.
"Lawyers, judges and cops (should be) held to a higher standard," he said. "She has testified that he crossed the line."
Golematis testified that she and Steele had ended their six-month relationship when he stopped by her Glengarry subdivision home March 4 to retrieve the last of his items.
"I was not an angel by any means," she said. "I wasn't gift wrapping his stuff."
With their interaction already tense, Golematis said Steele became violent when he was preparing to leave and she mentioned his Santa Claus statue that was in her garage.
"I said don't forget Santa," she said, adding that he then told her to keep it.
Upon saying that she didn't want it, Golematis kicked the item and said Steele responded by "freaking out."
He supposedly hit her left leg with a baseball bat and then began choking her. When she fell to the ground, Golematis said she landed on the steps in the garage that led to her kitchen.
"Gary Steele got on top of me and straddled me with his weight," she said, adding that he began choking her again and made several references to his former police partner, Brian Vieau, who committed suicide after killing his estranged wife, Tracy Vieau, in February 2007. "He said 'Now I know why Brian did what he did.'"
Golematis said Steele fired three shots into the garage steps near the left side of her head. After placing the gun inside her mouth and to her head, Golematis said Steele appeared to "snap" back to reality when she told him that he was hurting her.
"He said 'I love you. I just love you so much. I would do anything for us.'" Golematis testified, adding that Steele began stroking her hair and saying he should go into the home's basement to see if anything was damaged by the gunshots.
Golematis said she asked Steele to leave and then she called Canton Police.
Upon questioning Golematis, Steele's attorney, David Lee, questioned her reluctance to stay in her township home due to the gunshot holes and suggested that a gun had previously been fired in her home. Golematis denied owning a gun and said there were no other gunshot holes at her residence.
At one point during the cross examination, Lowe scolded Golematis for offering Lee a flippant answer.
Julie Cook, Golematis' friend of 10 years, testified that the alleged attack is "pretty much all that (Golematis) talks about." Cook said Golematis is afraid of retaliation from other police officers and lives in a state of paranoia.
After Cook's testimony, Lee argued that the charges be reduced and that Steele's bond be reduced to $100,000. He said Steele, who has been in custody for more than 40 days, has no evidence of past abuse and has had sufficient "cooling time" and isn't a danger to anyone.
Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Scott Ehlfeldt defended all the charges as relevant and balked at the bond suggested by the defense.
In keeping the bond at its current amount, Lowe said he has "no doubt in my mind" that Golematis is afraid of Steele.
"He's a good person who made a really bad choice," Golematis said.
Steele is scheduled to be arraigned in Third Circuit Court on April 25.
tlparks@hometownlife.com (734) 459-2700
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