CARO — A Caro man was arrested the evening of May 29 after getting into a skirmish with his son and another man. His violent acts continued once he was taken to the Tuscola County Jail, according to a police re-port.
Michael A. Yates, 64, was charged Tuesday in Tuscola County District Court with four counts of assault-ing/resisting/obstructing a police officer, domestic violence and assault and battery.
The obstructing counts are felonies with a maximum sentence of two years in prison. The other two counts are misdemeanors.
According to the Caro Police Department, officers arrived at Yates’ home at about 8:40 p.m. May 29 after a caller notified Tuscola County Central Dispatch about a fight in the yard of a dwelling in the 500 block of Hamilton Street in Caro. Witnesses told police that an argument had occurred earlier that evening at The Brentwood Restaurant and Lounge, in Caro, and continued at Yates’ residence.
When police appeared at the house, “(Yates) was seen to be yelling in a very aggressive manner at his son,” according to the police report. An investigation revealed that Yates had been at The Brentwood and had an altercation with a friend of Yates’ adult son, who was there with his father and infant son. The friend of Yates’ son went to Yates’ home – which has multiple residential units, with Yates occupy-ing the first floor and Yates’ son occupying a separate second floor. While Yates’ son spoke with his friend, Michael Yates came out of the house and became aggressive, throwing punches at both men, according to witness accounts.
The domestic violence charge is in connection with the alleged assault of Yates’ son, and the assault count stems from the alleged striking of his son’s friend.
Police say Yates was confrontational with officers but was arrested and taken to the Tuscola County Jail. Once there, “he continued to be verbally confrontational with deputies and resisted having the hand cuffs removed,” the police report states. Yates also refused to leave the police cruiser, prompt-ing jail deputies to forcibly remove him. Eventually, deputies were forced to take Yates to the ground as a way to control him.
“At this point, Yates, knowing he was bleeding, repeatedly said that he had AIDS and that he was gon-na bleed on us,” the police report states. Multiple police personnel had Yates’ blood on them.
It is unknown if Yates is HIV positive.
Yates was on probation at the time of the alleged offenses. In September 2018, in Tuscola County, Yates was convicted of two counts of assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer and operating while intoxicated (third offense). He was scheduled to be released from his probationary period in March 2024.
A preliminary exam and pretrial hearing for Yates are pending. He was released from jail after paying a $1,000 cash bond.
