5 men charged in rowdy brawl
Machetes, bats used during altercation
A rowdy brawl involving bats and machetes that broke out during a property exchange in northern Macomb County landed five local residents in trouble with the law and at least one person hospitalized.
According to the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, the incident took place about 6:30 p.m. Sunday in a gravel parking lot on Van Dyke Avenue, south of 35 Mile Road.
The sheriff’s office, responded to the scene along with Michigan State Police and Romeo police after receiving numerous calls about a group of people fighting outdoors with weapons.
“The incident, which stemmed from an earlier incident in Imlay City, began when familymembers were making a plan to meet to
exchange property,” sheriff’s officials said in a news release.
Yasef Asak of Macomb Township, and Toma Kejbo of Sterling Heights, who were part of the exchange, were in a Dodge Ram pickup truck when they arrived at the parking lot.
They said they were confronted by Sayel Slaiwa of Macomb Township, and Latif Patris of Sterling Heights, who showed up in a F-150 pickup truck, armed with a machete and baseball bat respectively, according to the sheriff’s office.
The release states the four men then began assaulting each other.
Minutes later, a GMC Yukon pulled up with four people inside — the second half of the property exchange— as the initial combatants were fighting. The driver of the Yukon, Roodi Qarchw, drove the vehicle into the F-150, nearly striking Slaiwa.
Slaiwa and Patris began pounding on the Yukon windows, injuring the a female passenger in the front seat.
As police arrived, they were able to break up the melee.
All three vehicles were damaged in the violence. Several people were transported
to the hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, according to the release.
Earlier, one of themen in the Dodge Ram and a male family member of one of the men in the F-150 were involved in a separate incident. Both sets of males are known to the people in the Yukon.
The suspects were all arraigned Monday in 42-1 District Court in Romeo.
Slaiwa, 35, was treated for minor injuries and released from the hospital. He is now being held on a $75,000 bond in the Macomb County Jail after being charged with assault with intent to do great
bodily harm less than murder and felonious assault.
Patris, 68, also is in jail on a $25,000 bond. He was charged with three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.
Kejbo, 30, remains hospitalized but has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon. His bond was set at $5,000.
Asak, 20, was charged with two counts of felonious assault, and is being held on a $5,000 bond.
Qarchw, 21, was charged with one count of felonious assault. His bond is $5,000.
The suspects are scheduled to return to court on Oct. 27 for a probable cause conference.