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One hundredfve years of editorialfreedom
Thursday
November 9, 1995
tecnt Events
ept. 20: Firefighters arrive at
Daniel P. Rice's burning home and
find him dead.
ept. 22: A Ziwet House roorn in
Baits is set on fire in apparent
arson.
ept. 23: Dale L. Lipke, 23, is
arrested in connection2with the
Baits arson. Separately, Crystal
Lujan, 23, is arrested for carrying"
a concealed weapon.
ept. 25: Lipke and Lujan are
arraigned separately.
ct. 4: Lipke's preliminary hearing
for the Baits fire is postponed.
ct. 11 and 25: Lipke's preliminary
hearing is postponed two more
times.
av. 7: While separately awaiting
hearings and trials for their
charges, Lipke and Lujan are both
arraigned for the murder of Rice
and Lipke for allegedly setting fire
to his home. Lujan is also
arraigned for the Baits fire.
Student faces muder ~pjcharge
By Jodi Cohen
Daily Staff Reporter
An LSA sophomore has been charged
with the Sept. 18 murder of a local man
and also with the Sept. 22 arson at the
Vera Baits II residence hall.
Crystal Lujan, 23, a part-time stu-
dent, faces the possibility of life in
prison. She is being held in the
Washtenaw County Jail on charges of
murder, attempted murder and arson,
which stem from two incidents - the
dorm fire and the brutal death of a
Superior Township man.
Police said Lujan, along with previ-
ously arraigned suspect Dale Lipke,
also 23, is accused of setting the Baits
fire in an effort to kill a University
student. The two have also been linked
Sophomore also held for Baits arson
to the Superior Township murder and
arson.
DPS confirmed that Lujan and Lipke
were acquaintances. In her UNIX user
directory description, Lujan mentions a
person named Dale.
Lujan is being held on three counts
for the dorm fire: assault with intent to
murder, a felony punishable by up to
life in prison: setting off explosives, a
felony punishable by up to 25 years in
prison; and arson, a felony punishable
by up to 20 years in prison, police said.
Lujan's arrest warrant was issued
Tuesday after combined efforts by the
Washtenaw County Sheriffs Depart-
ment and the University's Department
of Public Safety.
"It is a good example of collabora-
tion," said DPS spokeswoman Eliza-
beth Hall.
Prosecutors allege Lujan and Lipke
set the fire by throwing gasoline under
the door of the Ziwet House room. The
resident.an 18-year-old University stu-
dent, was an acquaintance of Lujan,
police said.
The blaze, which police said began at
1:39a.m.,,caused about $20,000 in dam-
age, burning parts of the carpet, desk
and bed. No one was injured.
DPS officers had moved the resident
from her room about a week before the
fire, after Lujan sent two women to
threaten her, police said. The women
also forced the victim to cut her hair.
Lipke, a friend of Lujan, has been in
custody since Sept. 23 in connection
with the Baits fire. DPS confirmed yes-
terday that Lujan coerced Lipke to help
start the tire. Lipke has been held in
Washtenaw County Jail in lieu of
$500,000 bond. His preliminary hear-
ing has been postponed three times.
Lujan arrived in jail the same day as
Lipke, but on unrelated charges. Offic-
ers from the W ashtenaw County
Sheriff's Department and the Ann Ar-
bor Police Department arrested her for
allegedly carrying a concealed weapon.
As Lipke awaited a preliminary hear-
ing for the Baits fire and while Lujan
was in jail for the concealed weapon
charge, both were arraigned Tuesday
on charges that they set a Superior
Township man's house on fire Sept. 20
after brutally killing him.
Lujan was also charged with the Baits
fire on Tuesday. Lujan and Lipke stood
before District Court Judge Magistrate
George Parker in separate arraignments
held at the Washtenaw County Jail.
"It became apparent to DPS investi-
See MURDER, Page 2A
'U student keeps
custody of child in
appeals decision
I
I#
STEPHANIE GRACE LIM/Daidy
only have eyes for you
ese huge eyes from a poster peer from the Gargoyle's windows at the Student Publications Building on Tuesday night.
boweil opts out of 1996 pre sidenitial r ace
WASHINGTON (AP) - After'
lonths of "prayerful consideration"
iat captivated the nation, Colin
owell awkwardly embraced the Re-
ublican Party yesterday, but said he
'ould not run for President in 1996
ecause it was "a calling that I do not
et hear."
Ending an extraordinary political
lystery, Powell
led out seeking
ny elected office
ext year. Instead,
e_ said he would
edicate himself to
storing "the spiritr
fLincoln" to a Re-
ublican Party he
aid was a lot more
iverse than many
onservatives Powell
'ould care to ad-
lit.
"I'm sorry I disappointed you," the
tired general said in a poignant tribute
> the thousands of everyday Ameri-
ans who had urged him to run, in
erson, through letters and.by joining
raft Powell efforts.
"We're devastated," said James
ynch, a New York lawyer involved in
ie draft effort. Said Tim Bush, an orga-
izer in New Hampshire: "I think really
ie country is the loser."
Such support brought him to the brink
f a candidacy, Powell said, but in the
nd he stepped back from elective poli-
Decision leaves 'Draft Powell' chairman without a candidate
By Ronnie Qlassberg
Daily Staff Reporter
As a moderate Republican and state chairman of the
Draft Powell for President Committee, Joseph Ditzhaiy
said he hoped that Colin Powell would move his party to
the center.
Now, with Powell's decision to not enter the race,
Ditzhazy said he does not know whom to support.
Ditzhazy said many Powell supporters he talked to
yesterday would like to support the Democratic ticket -
but with Vice President Al Gore at the top. He said many
Powell supporters are wary of President Clinton and ques-
tion the integrity of the Republican front-runner, Sen. Bob
Dole of Kansas.
"I was a Republican up to the 'anybody-but-Bush' year and
then I worked for Clinton," he said. "I think (Powell) had a
clear picture of the future that this country is going into."
Ditzhazy said the national organization had asked him to
keep the state group together. "It's tough to keep a group
together when you don't have a candidate," he said.
He blamed Powell's decision on conservative Republi-
cans who recently increased attacks on Powell for not
representing their views.
"I think Colin felt he didn't want to drag his family
through that," Ditzhazy said. "The consistent message that
I'm-getting is that (Powell supporters) won't support any of
the remaining Republican candidates, and they'll either sit
out or support Clinton-Gore.
"They're scared by the Newt Gingrich Republican Party,
and they're not particularly happy with Clinton," Ditzhazy
said.
Political science Prof.Steven Rosenstone said that Powell's
decision might help Dole in the Republican primary.
"It appears that Dole takes a boost here," he said. "In the
general election, I suspect if Powell had been the Republi-
can nominee, it would have been a more difficult situation
for Clinton."
Rosenstone said it would have been very difficult for
Powell to win the Republican nomination.
"My guess is that he calculated either winning the
Republican nomination or winning as an independent was
not high," Rosenstone said. "We've already seen in the last
couple of weeks how the right was hammering away at
him."
LSA junior Tiffany Coty, who identifies herself as lib-
eral, said she would have considered Powell, but will not
support any other Republicans.
"I think that even if he had run, he wouldn't have had any
power because he's a moderate on all issues," Coty said. "I
would have wanted to vote for someone who is not just
conforming to the Republican ideology, and I think he kind
of does by not taking a stand."
N Judge originally ruled
for father; appeals
court disagrees
By Michelle Lee Thompson
Daily Staff Reporter
LSA sophomore Jennifer Ireland
will get custody of her 4-year-old
daughter under a Michigan Court of
Appeals decision handed down yes-
terday, ending a two-year custody
battle in which a judge had earlier
awarded custody to the child's father.
Macomb County Circuit Judge
Raymond R. Cashen gave custody of
4-year-old Maranda Kate Ireland-
Smith last year to her father, Macomb
Community College student Steven
Smith. However, the appeals court
granted Ireland custody of the child
during the appeal.
The appeals court said the district
court "committed clear legal error in
considering the 'acceptability' of the
parties' homes and child care arrange-
ments."
The court said Cashen's decision to
award the child to Smith based on
family permanence - that Smith
would provide a more stable environ-
ment for the child - was incorrect.
The opinion mandates that Cashen
not preside over the second hearing
and that the trial court consider that
Maranda has lived with Ireland since
the trial began.
Ireland said yesterday at a press
conference that she felt "a little relief
and a lot of joy" upon hearing the
court's decision." I'm her permanence
and her stability. The Court of Ap-
peals saw that."
Ireland's lawyer, Julie Field of the
University's Women in the Law clinic,
said, "The Court of Appeals found
that Maranda Ireland-Smith has an
established custodial home with her
mother, Jennifer Ireland, and found
that Steven Smith has never had the
sole obligation of taking care of
Maranda for any extended period of
time."
The appeals court said it would have
reversed the lower court's decision if
it could have and that it would retain
jurisdiction of the case until the mat-
ter is resolved.
The Michigan Supreme Court has
ruled that appellate courts may not
decide custody cases or reverse a
judge's finding of fact, but may send
cases back to be re-evaluated.
The court said Smith would have to
Case Chronology
September 1990: Jennifer
Ireland, 15, and Steven Smith,
16, decide to abort the baby
Ireland is carrying. The abortion
never occurs.
May 1991: One-month-old
Maranda Kate Ireland-Smith is
removed from foster care by
Ireland and her mother.
February 1993: Two months after
Ireland files for child support,
Smith files for custody,
visitation rights and decreased
child support for Maranda.
May 13, 1994: Ireland,
represented by family friend
Ronald Dixon, loses custody of
Maranda at the hands of
Macomb County Circuit Judge
Raymond R. Cashen. Two
weeks later, the Michigan
Court of Appeals gives Ireland
a temporary stay during the
appeal to come.
June 27, 1994: Cashen renders
opinion giving custody to Smith
saying Smith's family would
better care for the child
because it would not use day
care. Ireland files an appeal the
following week.
present new evidence to establish that
he would provide more stability.
Smith said last year all available evi-
dence was presented.
Alicia Aiken, a former University
Law student who helped Field pre-
pare for the case last year, said: "(The
appellate court judges) were very
clear. They disqualified (Cashen) and
they limited the remand very, very
narrowly and they said that they would
have even remanded it if they didn't
have to."
Field said she was extremely hope-
ful that the circuit court would give
Ireland custody. "I think it will be
extremely, extremely difficult for Mr.
Smith to get a change to what the
Court of Appeals has said."
Smith could not be reached for com-
ment yesterday. His lawyer, Sharon-
Lee Edwards, said she had not seen
the court's opinion and would not
comment on the ease.
At the time Ireland filed her appeal
last year, Smith said: "I won my case
See IRELAND, Page 2A
Suspects
- dtaine
tics - for now anyway.
To run for President, he said, would
demand "a passion and commitment
that, despite my every effort, I do not
have for political life, because such a
life requires a calling that I do not yet
hear."
"For me to pretend otherwise
would not be honest to myself, it
would not be honest to the Ameri-
can people."
Powell also ruled out being the GOP's
vice presidential nominee, but said he
might consider an appointed govern-
ment position. Many Republicans, even
Powell critics, said the retired general
still was almost certain to be considered
for the No. 2 spot on the GOP ticket.
itudents' Party to run largest slate for MSA
y Michelle Lee Thompson
aily Staff Reporter
One of the Michigan Student Assembly's
o oldest parties, the Students' Party, is run-
ing the largest slate in next week's elections
with candidates for more schools than even
LSA Rep. Olga Savic said that although the
Students' Party has spoken against MSA Presi-
dent Flint Wainess' health-care ideas, it does
not oppose student health-care reform.
"It's not so much that we are opposed to
health care for students, but
"Student
government is not
real-life politics -
in Israel
An Israeli border
policeman checks
flowers being
delivered to the
prime minister's
m
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