Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office top investigator quits citing ‘climate and culture’ - The Macomb Daily

Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office top investigator quits citing ‘climate and culture’ - Macomb Daily

Another Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office high-level employee, the chief investigator, has left his post because he is unhappy with the direction of the office. Keith has been replaced by a former police officer with minimal experience in that office and a blemish on his resume.

Craig Keith, 62, a former Clinton Township detective, left Sept. 5 for a part-time post as an ordinance officer with the township. He had been at the Prosecutor’s Office since 2011, and the chief of the investigative unit since 2017.

“I wasn’t happy with the direction of the office overall and in particular the investigative unit,” Keith said. “I wasn’t happy with the climate and culture of the office and the direction the investigative unit was going.”

Keith is at least the 23rd employee to leave the office since Peter Lucido took over as county prosecutor in 2021 after winning the 2020 election. Many of those who have departed – including some of the 19 assistant prosecutors who have left – have indicated they were dissatisfied with the operation of the office under Lucido.

Keith would not elaborate, but former assistant Macomb prosecutor Bill Cataldo, who recently retired, said Keith and some of the other investigators were no longer alllowed to provide his “invaluable” assistance in cases but relegated to performing “ministerial” tasks.

“They (investigators) were critical to the case prior to the charging and after the charging and at the trial,” Cataldo said.

Keith has been replaced by Kevin Reese, a former Sterling Heights police officer who became an investigator in the office only seven months ago. As a police officer, he was demoted following a drunk driving conviction in 2014 and left sometime after that.

Lucido praised Reese for embracing “a task tracking system for our investigators.”

“This innovative tool has enhanced our ability to track and manage investigator tasks,” Lucido said. “It provides a transparent and accountable framework for tracking progress.”

Reese “brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our team, having demonstrated exemplary investigative skills throughout his 29-year career at the Sterling Heights Police Department, including supervising the detective bureau, youth bureau, narcotics, and patrol divisions,” Lucido said. “He has already played a pivotal role by successfully implementing our electronic warrant system as part of our new case management system, a crucial advancement in our pursuit of efficient and effective law enforcement.

“We acknowledge the retirement of our former Chief Investigator. In public service, we respect the right of individuals to make choices that align with their personal and professional aspirations. Constructive critique is an essential element of any organization’s growth, and we welcome feedback as an opportunity for continuous improvement.”

Reese’s brother, Michael, is a former Sterling Heights police chief and is now the police chief for the Huron Clinton Metropark Authority.

Before Lucido took over, Keith and some of the other investigators provided instrumental help to assistant prosecutors in investigating and prosecuting murder and other capital cases, Cataldo said. Now, they’re performing such duties as “moving furniture,” researching criminal histories and assisting the overworked “discovery” staff in providing discovery to defense attorneys, Cataldo said.

“They’re not the ones who should be uploading discovery,” said another former assistant Macomb prosecutor who did not want to be named. “It’s not particularly suited to their skill set.”

Cataldo called the investigators’, and particularly Keith’s, input in cases invaluable.

When Cataldo and other former top assistant prosecutors such as Jean Cloud and Therese Tobin were preparing to prosecute and prosecuting accused murderers, “they became our eyes and ears in the investigation,” Cataldo said. “It was a team approach.”

A Prosecutor’s Office investigator would sit in meetings during trial preparations and handle the technology associated with a case during a trial, where he or she would also serve as an in-court observer to offer suggestions, Cataldo said.

“I can tell you unequivocally that in at least 40% of my trials … my opening statements and closing arguments came from their observations of the case and their knowledge of the psychology of the defendant – what makes the person tick,” Cataldo said. “Their insight was invaluable.

“As experienced as we were, we didn’t see everything, and sometimes the investigator would be watching and providing input when a piece of information came out.”

Cataldo, who was chief of homicides for many years, noted that with so many highly experienced assistant prosecutors leaving the office the past couple of years, investigators should be as valuable as ever in assisting in prosecutors, albeit the number of cases going to trial have been reduced under Lucido due to more plea deals.

He said at least one of the current top assistant prosecutors who handles some of the biggest murder cases in the office has demanded to have an investigator assist at trials.

Two other former assistant Macomb prosecutors who did not want to be named said Keith’s skills were not appreciated by the new regime.

“He (Keith) was a very good person to do cases with because that’s what he did throughout his (police) career,” said one former assistant prosecutor.

They said their efforts in having an investigator assist them during a trial was stymied by Lucido’s new requirement to complete a request form to get help from an investigator, instead of their previous practice of merely calling them directly.

“It’s a distraction,” said the second former assistant prosecutor. “When you’re in the thick of things (a trial), you want to be able to call up an investigator (for assistance), not have to log in and to submit a request. Like with everything Pete does, everything is more complicated for the staff, not easier or more efficient.”

Keith, meanwhile, said while he is sad to leave, he is proud of his dozen years there after working as a police officer for 26 years.

He was hired as investigator after he was the officer in charge of the highly publicized cold-case prosecution of Michael George, who was twice convicted of killing his wife, Barbara, in 1990 in their Clinton Township comic book store.

George, now 63, was first convicted of first-degree murder by different juries at a 2008 circuit court trial and then again in 2011 after additional evidence was discovered. He is serving life without parole.

Keith and two other detectives decided to reopen the George case about 15 years after it initially probed.

“I remembered some loose ends in the initial investigation and some statements,” Keith said. “We thought we needed to close this case so we reinterviewed some people and developed more witnesses.”

While that was a big case, Keith said the most memorable case of his career was the 2016 high-profile conviction of James VanCallis for the beating death of 14-year-old April Millsap of Armada on the Macomb Orchard Trail near Millsap’s home. Keith served as the trial investigator from the Prosecutor’s Office, assisting Cataldo and former assistant Macomb prosecutor Bill Dailey. VanCallis, now 41, is serving life without parole.

The case against VanCallis, which was investigated by the Michigan State Police, was highly circumstantial but voluminous. Investigators and prosecutors used cell phone evidence extensively, including the phone’s walking app that tracked Millsap’s and then VanCallis’ movements.

Keith said his most memorable case as a detective was the 2001 conviction of Robert S. Prince, now 41, for the rape and murder of Karen Gray behind the then Kmart store on Groesbeck Highway. Prince is serving 26 to 60 years in prison.

“Through teamwork and investigative techniques, we were able to identify him and bring him to justice,” Keith said.

He added that all the murder cases were important.

“There’s a lot of other (memorable) ones,” he said. “They’re all important cases when there is a death involved.”

Keith started as a township police officer in 1985 and became a detective in the mid-1990s, spending five years in the Detective Bureau. He was promoted to lieutenant and spent one to two years running a road shift before serving as chief of special investigations for six years and then completing his township career in the bureau.

In his new post, Keith is one of two part-time officers in addition to one full-time officer.

Keith said he is spending his increased leisure time with his two grandchildren and engaging in his hobbies, notably woodworking.