Full hearing: Mom accused in Pontiac child abandonment case sentenced on welfare fraud charges

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Thank you, Jeff Bees. Could you please come in here? [00:00:05] Speaker ?: Absolutely. [00:00:17] Speaker 1: Calling case number 2025-293649-FC and case number 2025-293653-FH People v. Kelly Bryant. Thank you. For the people on the case ending in 649, the child abuse matter? [00:00:34] Speaker 2: Good afternoon, Your Honor. Can you give me an example on behalf of the people? [00:00:36] Speaker 3: Thank you, ma'am. And for the welfare fraud ending in 653? Good afternoon, Your Honor. Erica Smith, turn on behalf of the people. Thank you, ma'am. For Ms. Bryant. Good afternoon, Your Honor. [00:00:46] Speaker 4: Silly Carandango, on behalf of Kelly Bryant, and she's with me in court, your Honor. [00:00:50] Speaker 1: Thank you. Ms. Bryant, could you please state your name for the record? Kelly Bryant. Thank you, ma'am. All right, I, number one, I need to address competency. Ms. Bryant was referred to the Center for Forensic Psychiatry to undergo a competency evaluation. I received a report, a 15-page report, that was prepared by a Dr. Alan Garber dated June 15, 2026. All the attorneys had an opportunity to receive and review that report. [00:01:22] Speaker 2: Yes, Your Honor. Thank you. [00:01:24] Speaker 1: Yes, Your Honor. I did review it with my client as well. Ms. Smith, have you had an opportunity to review it and understand it? [00:01:31] Speaker 3: Your Honor, I did have an opportunity to review it. I know within the report they mentioned the fact that it was relative only to the child abuse case, but I did review it. All right. Thank you. Because I think it's relative in terms of whether I proceed to sentence or not. [00:01:41] Speaker 1: It is. All right. Is anybody challenging the findings? Dr. Garber is recommending that this court find Ms. Bryant competent to stand trial, recognizing that it's a court determination, but she provides a good deal of information, background information, interview, evaluation. It's a good, thorough workup. Anybody objecting to the findings? [00:02:08] Speaker 2: Your Honor, the people are not objecting. I believe that Dr. Garber has made appropriate findings. [00:02:14] Speaker 1: Thank you. Ms. Karen Dango? No objection, yeah. All right, so if the report is not objected to, then I'm going to receive it and indicate the final paragraph of Dr. Garber's report is, in sum and when considering all available information, I'm not reading the entire paragraph, but the important part, I can find no compelling information to indicate Ms. Bryant has a mental condition in hearing her ability to understand the nature and object of the proceedings against her and assist rationally in her defense if she decides to do so. Given the above, it is my opinion Ms. Bryant is competent to stand trial. So I'm going to adopt the report and I'm going to adopt the findings of Dr. Ellen Garber, who is a consulting forensic examiner with the Center for Forensic Psychiatry, in order that she be found competent and order to be prepared with the left-in-back. So she is competent. Thank you, Your Honor. My intention, then, is to proceed to sentencing in the welfare fraud case, and then we'll have a pretrial as kind of our last moment. Sounds good, Ellen. Have you had an opportunity, Ms. Smith, to review the precepts, investigation, and report? [00:03:28] Speaker 3: I have, Your Honor. Thank you. Ms. Karen Beigel, have you had an opportunity? [00:03:31] Speaker 4: Yes, I did in the past, and we talked about it, Ms. Bryant and I talked about it again yesterday. I didn't have any additions, deletions, or corrections to the report. All right. [00:03:40] Speaker 1: Thank you. Ms. Smith, any additions, corrections, deletions? No, Your Honor. Thank you. I have this, and we have a schedule that was scheduled on a previous date. I reviewed it as well, and am familiar with the recommendation. The recommendation is consistent with the COPS agreement in this case, and with the Michigan Sentencing Guidelines. So my intention is to follow the COPS and to follow the recommendation. The only thing that I was going to add, there wasn't, the department didn't address a tether, but I will be ordering that if she is released at any point, that she will be required to register a tether with an outside agency, and I'll be more detailed about that. That's the only addition to the report. So you said no additions, corrections, deletions, no additions, corrections, deletions. Do you want to be heard on these sentence? [00:04:34] Speaker 3: Your Honor, I would just ask that the court adopt the recommendation that's set out in the report that was directed by the agent. The only thing I would ask is, as the court's already stated on the record, I would ask for the tether as well. But aside from that, I don't have anything in addition. I know the court's extremely familiar with this case. The request for restitution is $29,397. I did provide Ms. Kirandonga with a couple of forms that the agent handling the welfare fraud case had asked me to provide to Ms. Bryant for signature. I'm not sure if she's going to sign those or not, but those have been provided. [00:05:08] Speaker 4: Ariana, just so the court is aware, they were emailed to me yesterday after I couldn't print them anymore before seeing Ms. Bryant. I was handed copies of them today. So I need to speak to her about it because of the time constraints of when she was brought across the street. All right. But restitution is going to be ordered. [00:05:26] Speaker 1: At the time that she entered her plea, in October 2025, one of the conditions of the cobs was full repayment, full restitution. And the discussion at that time was that it was in the area of $29,000. So you're not claiming this number is a shock anyway. [00:05:43] Speaker 4: That's not the paperwork, Yana. It's agreeing to be disqualified from receiving benefits in the future. Okay. So it's just the tricky issue I need to talk about. [00:05:52] Speaker 1: That's the thing about that. All right. Do you want to be heard on the sentence, Ms. Karen Battle? I'm intending on adopting the recommendation, adding a tether, and that's consistent with the cobs agreement. [00:06:02] Speaker 4: It is consistent with the cobs agreement. I don't have anything else to say, in honor, about that. [00:06:06] Speaker 1: Thank you, ma'am. Ms. Bryant, do you want to be heard on the sentence? So this is, we're just talking about the welfare fraud case. Anything that you want to say before I impose the sentence? No, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am. It is the sentence of this court on count one, welfare fraud, with the financial damage being over $500, that you be placed on probation for a period of two years. Is the jail credit right, the 112 days? [00:06:31] Speaker 4: This bond was never revoked, Yana. [00:06:35] Speaker 1: All right. So jail credit is correct. That's correct. Yes. And that you serve 112 days in the Oakland County jail credit for 112 days. That's consistent with the cobs agreement. It's consistent with the Michigan sentencing guidelines that were calculated by the Michigan Department of Corrections. On count two, welfare fraud, with the financial damage being over $500, that you be placed on probation for a period of two years, that you serve 112 days in the Oakland County jail, credit for 112 days. And on count three, welfare fraud, with the financial damage being over $500, that you be placed on probation for a period of two years, that you serve 112 days in the Oakland County jail, credit for 112 days that you serve. All three counts are sentenced consistent with the cobs agreement in this case, and the Michigan sentencing guidelines. They were appropriate then, and it's appropriate now. I am ordering restitution in the amount of $29,397 to be paid over the term of your probation, DNA costs of $60, state costs of $204. If you are eligible while you're on probation, you should attend, engage, and benefit from outpatient cognitive behavioral programming. If you are released on probation, you should, you're ordered to be on electronic monitoring for the term of your probation if and when released. That's a tether with an outside agency where you could leave home confinement for the purposes of employment, meeting your health needs, meeting your mental health needs, and anything related to your defense or legal needs. While you're on probation, you're ordered to maintain and seek employment as directed. An income withholding order should be prepared upon verification based on that large restitution number. Again, participate, attend, engage, and benefit from mental health treatment. Importantly, on probation, you're ordered not to engage in any assaulted or threatened behavior, not to use or possess any firearm or other deadly weapon, no contact or association with felons in the sense that you're seeking them out as role models. If you have incidental contact through employment or if you're family with felons, that is not a violation of probation, and you might have to sign something so that your probation officer can be kept up to date in terms of counseling, all right? That's the sentence of this court. Would you provide her with her appellate rights on the retail fraud, or on the welfare fraud? Ms. Bryan has it in her hand. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you. Let's hold a pretrial on the file ending in 649 FC. She is facing three counts of first through three child abuse. I'm going to give an order prepared that reflects that she's been found competent. Is there any resolution short of trial, or am I setting this matter for a trial? [00:09:39] Speaker 4: You know, there wasn't a killer brew offer from the people. I'll be frank with the court, you know, we received this report. The court is the way I think the Forensic Center was trying to speed along as much as they could. So I did receive it in time to meet with Ms. Bryan yesterday. We spent several hours together yesterday discussing everything. So I'm asking for the court's indulgence and the people's as well for another pretrial, if possible. [00:10:04] Speaker 1: I'm not going to set it for another pretrial. Here's what I'll... We can get a trial date. Yeah, let's get a trial date. Yeah, let's get a trial date. That's fine. Because we were right. We had juries... I understand. ...last time, and it's frustrating. So let's set it for trial. Let's make sure it's a good date. If there's a resolution short of trial in the interim, if attorneys contact Chambers, we'll bring it in the next Thursday. or the next Wednesday, we'll get it in and get it resolved short of trial. But I'm not confident that that's where we'll land. So let's get it on the trial docket and let's get this case done. That's fine, Julie. Monday, August 10th. [00:10:48] Speaker 4: Ms. Berenstown. Myranna, I already have a trial schedule that I think if it's a termination of provincial rights trial, that's old and has been pending for over a year and a half. Which judge is that? Judge Gantt. It's the only reason I'm hesitant is because that case has been pending since last March and it's very, very difficult to get charged. Can we give him another date? [00:11:29] Speaker 1: We did move some things to open these dates up. I'm sorry, Judge. Could you do Tuesday for how long? [00:11:37] Speaker 4: We're scheduled for a half day that day. We're scheduled for a half day that day. Like I said, I, you know, I yield to this court too. So, you know, whatever. [00:12:02] Speaker 3: Monday, August 24th. 24th. [00:12:10] Speaker 5: It's fine. I'm available. [00:12:13] Speaker 1: Let me, let, let, I want you to look. [00:12:16] Speaker 4: Is the 24th a good date? Yes, I just have to cancel some dockets, but you know that's nothing that this would yield over any other. [00:12:24] Speaker 1: We'll see you Monday, August 24th for a trial. We've already entered, prior to the, the other date, the pretrial order. So that stands in the court file. Expect that it will go Monday, Tuesday. Is it a roughly? Yeah. All right. I don't know exactly what the dates will be, but it will be Monday, Monday, Tuesday, maybe Wednesday afternoon, and then Friday. Okay. [00:12:56] Speaker 5: And I, I would just note there are, if we do proceed to trial, I believe that the children's school starts the second week of September. So. Okay. Yes. I just wanted to note that. All right. [00:13:09] Speaker 1: August 24th sounds like a good date. Anything that needs to be addressed in the interim contact chambers, we'll bring it in if we need to. Thank you, Your Honor. Can I ask the court one thing? Not if it's with regard to the bond motion that you filed. It is. With regard to the court. I won't address bond without a motion. I'll file my phone, Your Honor. Thank you. Thank you. [00:13:31] Speaker 2: Thank you, Your Honor. [00:13:33] Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you. According to recess. All rise. [00:13:40] Speaker ?: Thank you. Thank you.