The good old days. The old country. Words that invariably draw mental pictures of the verdant, pastoral meadows of our ancestral homelands. Those mystical realms where the laws of physics had been put on hold, and even time itself moved at a slower pace. Where a man's word was more valuable than gold, and a mere handshake could seal the deal.
That magical place where peace and order were held together by nothing more than quaint customs, ethics, morals, etiquette and courtesy - not by stuffy "laws" handed down by professional rulers on some distant hill.
Ah, nostalgia. We Americans just can't seem to get enough of it. But see what happens when a seemingly harmless notion like "nostalgia" quickly spins out of control and becomes a matter of personal "honor".
Fast forward to March 2, 2010, Lathrup Village, Michigan. Behold - the punching, the kicking, the headlocks, the expectorating, the cursing and the threatening.
No, you're not watching a "Freestyle Martial Arts Cage Fight", folks. This is a group of ladies (and their accompanying male "muscle") showing up at the "First Lady Bridal Shop" complaining about customer service. Highlights from the store video include alleged shots of the suspects shoving elderly Bridal Boutique owner Hekmat Putruss and his son Pierre to the ground, and spitting in the face of Salwa Putruss, the owner's wife.
Three of the men involved in the fracas face criminal prosecution and charges of assault and battery. Two of the Defendants, Mikhail and Nashwan Petros, are from Sterling Heights. The third Defendant, Nameer Kastaw, is from the City of Warren.
And now that a bridal shop worker has informed police that the gang threatened to burn down the store - we predict that the Putruss family will seek Personal Protection Orders.
The Defense Lawyer's remark that the shop owners provoked the melee may sound like a crude slap in the face, but, to us it sounds more like a litigation battle plan in the making. In fact, under Michigan law, provocation is a legal defense that may result in mitigation of the charges.
Ironically, the very nature of the crime may be the Defense Lawyer's best hope for an acquittal. It has been our experience that some of the most winnable criminal jury trials are assault cases involving multiple attackers versus multiple victims. That is because, in a setting like that, it is frequently difficult for an observer to distinguish an attack from a defensive maneuver. And it is even more difficult for a Prosecutor to conclusively dispel that confusion - when the burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt.
Bridal shop suspects were provoked, attorney says, The Detroit News, March 10, 2010
