candgnews.com FEBRUARY 5, 2025 Vol. 45, No. 3
0358-2506
SPOTLIGHT ON SENIOR LIVING/12A
Volunteers help provide care and therapy
Suspect in disappearance of Warren mother facing murder charge PROSECUTOR ‘OPTIMISTIC’ REMAINS WILL BE FOUND
BY NICK POWERS npowers@candgnews.com
BY BRIAN WELLS bwells@candgnews.com
See BOOKER on page 17A
ABOVE: Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Carmen DeFranco, left, speaks with Ashley Elkins’ mother, Monika Elkins, before a press conference at the Roseville Police Department Friday, Jan. 31. LEFT: Deandre Booker appears from the Macomb County Jail via Zoom during an arraignment Friday, Jan. 31. Booker is facing additional charges including first-degree murder related to the disappearance of Ashley Elkins, a Warren mother who has been missing since Jan. 2. Photos by Brian Wells
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WARREN — A petition to recall Warren Mayor Lori Stone citing her delayed action to establish a land bank in the city was suspended Jan. 21. “This decision comes after careful consideration of the systemic challenges in Michigan’s recall process, as well as the troubling issue of signature fraud that has cast a long shadow over legitimate efforts like mine,” Paul Kardasz, the Warren Stone resident who started the petition, said in a statement. Stone offered “no comment” about the suspended recall. Kardasz’s petition was approved Dec. 30 by the Macomb County Election Commission in a 2-1 vote. This was not Kardasz’s first attempt to recall Stone. In November, another petition he started was voted down by the Election Commission. That attempt was spurred by the mayor’s appointment of a resident to the Warren Historical Commission who was See RECALL on page 20A
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ROSEVILLE — The ex-boyfriend of a missing Warren mother is now facing additional charges after police said that DNA collected at what they believe to be the crime scene was matched to her. Deandre Booker, 32, of Roseville, is facing a first-degree murder charge following the disappearance of Ashley Elkins, a Warren hairstylist and mother of two, who has been missing since Jan. 2. Roseville Police Detective Sgt. Anthony Coraci said security cameras confirmed that Elkins arrived at Booker’s apartment, located near Frazho Road and Gratiot Avenue in Roseville, in the early morning hours of Jan. 2. Later that day, Booker was seen leaving in Elkins’ car with an unknown female. Booker is then seen returning with the unknown female without Elkins’ car. Later, Roseville police executed a
Recall petition for Warren mayor suspended