SkyTel seeks more time to hand over text messages in stripper lawsuit
DETROIT — SkyTel has asked a judge for more time to provide the court with certain text messages sought in a federal lawsuit over a Detroit police investigation into an exotic dancer’s shooting death.
A U.S. magistrate judge on Monday set a hearing for next week to consider the request and to explore paring down the volume of text messages sought by a lawyer representing the family of slain dancer Tamara “Strawberry” Greene.
Greene was said to have performed at a long-rumored but never substantiated party at the Manoogian Mansion, the mayor’s official residence, in the fall of 2002. Greene’s family is suing the city, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, his former chief of staff Christine Beatty, and numerous former and current top police officials, alleging they obstructed the investigation into Greene’s unsolved 2003 killing for political reasons.
Kilpatrick and the other defendants have denied the allegations and sought to have the lawsuit dismissed.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven Whalen, assisted by another magistrate judge, has apparently completed an in-camera inspection of the first set of SkyTel text messages turned over on Sept. 19 to U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen, the judge handling the lawsuit.
Whalen filed a sealed order Oct. 14, after inspecting text messages sent and received on city-issued SkyTel pagers on April 30, 2003, the day Greene was shot to death while sitting in a vehicle outside her Detroit home. There is no word yet on whether Whalen turned up any text messages considered relevant to the case and lawyers said they can’t discuss Whalen’s order because it was filed under seal.
Norman Yatooma, the lawyer for Greene’s family, has also sought a second set of text messages, which SkyTel is required to provide to the court this month. On Thursday, SkyTel asked the court for more time to compile the text messages and turn them over to the court.
The request seeks all text messages sent or received by at least 39 holders of city-issued SkyTel pagers over a nearly two-year period between Aug. 1, 2002 and April 17, 2004, SkyTel lawyer David Plunkett said in a court filing.
“The time it takes to run this volume of searches on SkyTel’s system prevents SkyTel from complying” with an order that said the company had to turn over the text messages within 10 days of receiving the Oct. 9 request, Plunkett said in requesting that SkyTel be given 35 days to provide the text messages.
On Monday, Whalen set an Oct. 27 hearing on SkyTel’s request.
In his order, Whalen noted that 39 pager holders mentioned by SkyTel is five more than the number of pager holders mentioned in Yatooma’s original subpoena in the case.
“That the list has grown larger rather than smaller is of concern,” Whalen said.
He gave Yatooma until Thursday to provide a list of pager holders whose text messages he is seeking, along with a brief explanation of the relevance of each.
Yatooma said Monday the number increased in response to a list released by SkyTel. For example, there was no pager specifically assigned to Kilpatrick but several assigned to the mayor’s office, said Yatooma, who requested text messages sent and received on all pagers assigned to the mayor’s office.
Lawyers have also filed witness lists in the case, which could go to trial early next year. Kilpatrick and Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, who investigated the rumored party at the Manoogian and dismissed it as an “urban legend,” are among witnesses who could be called.
You can reach Paul Egan at (313) 222-2069 or pegan@detnews.com.
