German man arrested at airport after threats to wife now charged with additional felony
The German man who was arrested by Pittsfield Township police after getting off a plane at Detroit Metro Airport for making threats against his wife is facing an additional criminal charge.
Martin Buerkle
From WCSO
Martin Buerkle, 41, was arraigned on one count of bribing or intimidating a witness on Tuesday, according to court records. He’s now facing that charge in addition to one count of assaulting a prison employee, court records show.
Buerkle had a preliminary hearing on Tuesday for the charge of assaulting a prison employee, according to court records. That hearing has been adjourned until June 5, records stated.
He’s facing a preliminary hearing on the charge of bribing and intimidating a witness at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, court records stated.
Buerkle also faces a misdemeanor charge of malicious use of telecommunications services, according to court records.
Buerkle was arrested by police for making threats to kill his wife, who lives in Pittsfield Township, after he got off the plane on March 16. After his arrest, Buerkle made self-inflicted cuts to his neck and wrist and was transported to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, according to sheriff’s office spokesman Derrick Jackson.
Jackson said Buerkle attempted to grab an officer’s gun from the holster. No one was injured, he said.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
ChelseaBob
Fri, Apr 6, 2012 : 1:13 p.m.
DeeDee- I would agree with one exception. It's not just men.
DeeDee
Fri, Apr 6, 2012 : 1:01 p.m.
Gosh, I sure wish that all of the American men who threaten, assault, murder their wives or girlfriends got as much police (and media) attention as this guy! This happens all of the time in Washtenaw County, and you can hardly get a restraining order on the men responsible, let alone get them in jail. It's great that this guy is off the street, but let's turn some attention to the problem in our own backyard.
pseudo
Sun, Apr 8, 2012 : 11:52 a.m.
DeeDee - I think this guy is getting attention for a number of reasons but here are two: - he doesn't fit the popular stereotype for this kind of thing: he is White, PhD level education, professional career (means and privilege). His victim(s) pobably also break stereotypes. Reporting on him adds to the proof that this kind of thing happens everywhere to anyone. - this guy's behavior may stand out even from the terrible 'norm' you present above given that a PPO was violated and and therefor issued and he was immediately put in jail. Given what you say above, how scary must someone be to get that kind of attention?
Alan Holsztynski
Fri, Apr 6, 2012 : 8:05 p.m.
"...arrested by police for making threats to kill his wife, who lives in Pittsfield Township..." Your comment confuses me. This is an example of giving attention to a problem in our backyard.