Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Detroit businessman Ferguson pleads guilty to assault charge

He avoids likely 12-year sentence; police reports say he pistol-whipped a man for calling his wife.

By Norman Sinclair / The Detroit News

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DETROIT - The president of Ferguson Enterprises, a prominent heavy equipment contracting company with millions of dollars in contracts in Metro Detroit, avoided a possible 12-year prison sentence Monday when he pleaded guilty to hitting a former employee with a "hard metal object."

Bobby Ferguson, 36, a friend of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and member of two civic development boards, had been charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm and using a firearm during a felony.

According to police reports, Ferguson pistol-whipped Kennedy Thomas in October after accusing Thomas of calling his wife late at night.

Under a deal struck with Wayne County prosecutors as his trial was about to begin, Ferguson will be sentenced to 10 months in the county jail and five years of probation.

The agreement will allow him to leave jail during business hours to run his company. "Our office has no objection to work release, as long as it is approved by the administrators at the Wayne County Jail," said Maria Miller, spokeswoman for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.

In an interview last week, Ferguson said stories linking him to the mayor failed to mention he had won bids for major city contracts before Kilpatrick came into office.

He said his company participated in some of Detroit's most noteworthy projects, including Comerica Park, Ford Field, the Compuware headquarters, the MGM Grand temporary casino and the Bing Steel complex -- all of which predated the Kilpatrick administration.

He was appointed to the Downtown Development Authority and the Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority by Kilpatrick.

Ferguson would have faced maximum penalties of 10 years on the assault charge and two for the gun felony if the case had gone to trial.

He will be sentenced Oct. 7.

You can reach Norman Sinclair at (313) 222-2034 or nsinclair@detnews.com.