Deputies arrested three suspects in this past summer’s cross-burning case in Independence Township. Josh Willhite, 19, of Independence Township, and Clarkston men Jonathan Waite, 19, and Travis Nesbitt, also 19, were arraigned in 52-2 District Court, Feb. 16, on charges of ethnic intimidation and conspiracy to commit ethnic intimidation in the Aug. 13 case. Both are two-year felonies.
Willhite was in jail on another charge this past Friday, and the other two suspects turned themselves in with attorneys present, Feb. 16. Willhite was released on $20,000 bond, 10 percent, along with Waite and Nesbitt, each with $5,000 personal bond.
‘People want to know there isn’t a hate organization with roots in Independence Township ? this shows there’s not,? said Det. Sgt. Matt Baldes, Oakland County Sheriff’s Independence substation. ‘Through the investigation and court process, we’ll find out why they did it.?