Top Windsor stories this week

A man has been sentenced after accidentally crossing the Ambassador Bridge with cocaine, the mother of a slain Windsor woman is speaking out against domestic violence, a LaSalle student juggled both prom and a provincial javelin championship, the reward for information in the death of a Windsor woman has increased, and $7-million in lawsuits have been launched after a fatal May 2022 accident at RetroFest.

Here’s a look at the top stories on ctvnewswindsor.ca this week.

Man sentenced to seven years after accidentally crossing Ambassador Bridge

A CBSA cruiser detains a vehicle driven by Federico Jimenez-Martinez at the Ambassador Bridge on Aug. 29, 2021. (Courtesy:Court documents)A trip to Windsor has cost Federico Jimenez-Martinez more than the $9 toll fee.

Justice Kirk Munroe found the 36-year-old Mexican citizen guilty of drug possession in May and handed him a seven year prison sentence Thursday morning.

“I think everybody's happy with the decision,” said RCMP constable Ian Smith.

In late August of 2021, Jimenez-Martinez was travelling from Arizona to Michigan when he accidentally hopped on the Ambassador Bridge.

A CBSA officer sent him to secondary.

During inspection 18 bricks of cocaine were found inside of a spare tire. The 18kgs had an estimated street value of $850,000 to $2 million.

 

'She deserved so much better': Slain Windsor woman’s mother speaks out against domestic violence

Fartumo Kusow holds up a picture of her daughter Sahra Bulle in her Windsor living room in Windsor, Ont. on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. (Rich Garton/CTV Windsor News)

A week after her the discovery of Sahra Bulle’s body in south Windsor, her mother is opening up about the loss and seeking reform in the way domestic violence is identified and reported.

“I was never prepared for the way it turned out to be,” said Fartumo Kusow. “I don't think she appreciated the depth of danger she was in.”

Bulle, 36 at the time of her death, went missing on May 26. For two weeks an entire community tried to find her.

Her body was found in a field near the 1900 block of Northway Avenue on June 8.

 

LaSalle student attends prom, then wins gold medal

Grade 12 Villanova student Kalman Chyz and his prom date Mackenzie Delisle in June 2023. (Source: Submitted)

Prom is a rite of passage for many, but for one local student who had to weigh his high school prom with competing in a provincial javelin championship, the community rallied to ensure he didn’t miss either.

“Someone told me they missed their prom,” said Kalman Chyz, who didn’t want to miss his, but the grade 12 Villanova student needed a plan to make it work out.

A javelin thrower, Chyz needed to be in Ottawa for the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) provincial championships Saturday but the prom was Friday night.

“Asked my mom if I could do both and she started looking into plane tickets to get me to Ottawa,” he explained.

 

Reward increases to $20,000 related to Windsor woman’s death

Police say Gerardine Butterfield, 63, was killed last May in her apartment on Wellington Avenue. (Courtesy Windsor police)The reward for information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of the person responsible in the death of a Windsor woman has increased to $20,000.

The Windsor Police Service and Windsor Police Services Board approved the increase from $5,000 to $20,000 related to the Gerardine Butterfield homicide investigation.

On Saturday, May 25, 2019 around 7:30 p.m. officers responded to an apartment at 591 Wellington Avenue and found the 63-year-old’s body. Soon after, the Major Crimes Unit became involved in the matter.

 

'They changed the route': Fatal accident leads to $7M in lawsuits against organizers of RetroFest, driver, police and municipality

The courthouse in Chatham, Ont., on Monday, April 18, 2016. (Michelle Maluske / CTV Windsor)Two Windsor lawyers have launched civil action as a result of a double-fatal accident during a classic car cruise last summer.

Four separate lawsuits have been filed on behalf of the five people directly impacted by the accident during RetroFest on May 27, 2022.

The total value of the lawsuits seeks at least $7,050,000 in general and special damages.