LoCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 8, 1997 -5 Suspect search focuses on forest Isle relaxation ALLEGAN, Mich. (AP) - An elite team of state troopers wearing Army helmets, face paint and bullet- proof vests scoured a small section of a state forest yesterday seeking a man suspected of killing three people in a dispute over drugs. Authorities got a major break when they discovered Michael Cleary's pickup truck along with a cache of weapons, food, clothes and imping gear in the Allegan State Game Area, 50 les south of Grand Rapids. But the search for a man who is described as an 4experienced woodsman was daunting. The forest is a biaze of dirt roads, narrow two-track paths, swamps, Takes and tricky terrain. M By 1:30 p.m., after an all-night hunt over two square miles, Cleary was still at large. The SWAT team retreated while dogs attempted to pick up any fresh :'cents. "There's just so much open space. It would take an tate drug penalties may be eakened LANSING (AP) -- Michigan's toughest-in-the-nation law that sends some drug offenders to jail for life would be relaxed under bills approved separately yesterday by House and Senate committees. While the full House and Senate gust still vote on the bills, the anges were welcomed yesterday by a group whose,loved ones are serving lengthy sentences under the taw. "It's a pretty big day for families 'that oppose mandatory minimum," said Laura Ager, director of Families Against Mandatory Minimums- Michigan Project. "It's a major step toward creating integrity in our iminal justice system in ichigan." The House Judiciary Committee, acting in the morning, passed a bill removing a provision calling for mandatory life in prison 'for anyone convicted of delivering more than 650 grams - 1.4 pounds of a narcotic or cocaine. Rep. Michael Nye (R-Litchfield), a co-sponsor of the amendment, said the measure gets rid of the mandato- Slife sentence, returning sentenc- g discretion to judges. "It says it's a felony punishable by any number of terms up to life," Nye said. "This will give the judge the ability to say, 'There's a drug king- pin,' and give him life." Co-sponsor Rep. Ted Wallace (D- Detroit) said the change is needed to alleviate overcrowding at some pris- ons. "We're clogging up the jails with Tow-level drug offenders and there's no room for violent offenders?" Wallace said. The Senate Judiciary Committee, meeting yesterday afternoon, approved two similar bills that were all for . making first-time drug offenders eligible for parole after 15 yyears in prison if they cooperate with law enforcement officials. The first bill went to the full - Souse on a unanimous committee vote; the second two bills were sent o the to the full Senate on votes of 6-I. ATM Continued from Page 1 K'nows how the system works, they'll be fine," Kelly said. "It's a whole issue of .nancial planning. If your bank's ATM liarges, then take out the niaximum 'amount of money allowed in one trans- action, and then you can avoid many surcharges." While most surcharges add up to ~ about $3, Kelly said some ATMs on cruise ships charge an extra 15 percent of the total amount withdrawn. An ATM in a Reno, Nevada casino, he said, has a $94 per transaction sur- harge. *These bills are part of a 29-bill dBonsumer Protection Package orga- +. nized by Brater, chair of the House Consumer Protection Committee. Brater will hold a public hearing on the bills at 7 p.m. on Oct. 13 in the Washtenaw County Building's board room. Army to cover it all," Lt. Richard Margosian said after a four-hour trip through the woods. "If he's hunkered down and camouflaged, you could literally walk over him." The team's commander, Lt. Jerry Ellsworth, said a search by foot was suspended "until we get better information." Cleary, 40, is suspected of killing three people in neighboring Van Buren County, although he is not charged with the deaths. The bodies were discovered Friday in a small house at Van Auken Lake, 10 miles from South Haven. "It looks like a dope deal gone bad," said Sgt. Mike Sweeney, a state police detective. Sheriff's officers went door to door along 48th Street, warning the few rural residents who live in the state game area to keep their doors locked. Cleary is considered armed and dangerous. Bill Sisson, 64, wasn't worried. He suggested that he'd have a surprise if Cleary came knocking. "Whenever I answer the door, I've got my friendly persuader with me." Sisson said, patting his waist. "He could be sitting up on a hill watching us right now. He could be 100 miles away. Who knows?" Indeed, police acknowledged that Cleary could have walked out of the forest and hitchhiked. They said he probably fled his campsite after hearing voic- es or a vehicle. Sweeney discovered the pickup truck after follow- ing up on a tip during his ride home Monday after- noon. A heat-sensing helicopter later flew over the area but failed to detect anything, not even a deer. Cleary is 5 feet 8 inches tall and 190 pounds, with reddish gray hair and a full beard. The victims in last week's murders were Mex Handley, 37, Brenda Hurley, 34, and Dan Charles, 26. AP PHOTO Don Smartz, of Detroit, a retired construction worker, reads a book on Belle isle as Canadian geese walk between him and Canada yesterday. a a 0' its you tu n :, ; f. '? to tee sa~r check iIn # .. k «. ,d f # Is j'* . i t e ail. . . With a checking account of your own, you won't have to ask mom to write the checks for you anymore. First of America's Campus First Checking Account offers students a lot more, for less than you might expect. 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