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JUNE 25, 2025 • Vol. 36, No. 13
Text messages reveal alleged shooter’s mental state BY BRIAN WELLS bwells@candgnews.com
STERLING HEIGHTS — A man facing murder charges related to a Sterling Heights shooting death had potentially incriminating text messages revealed in a court hearing June 11. On Feb. 1, Luke James Svacha allegedly shot and killed JaJuan Marls, 24, of Detroit, at the Extended Stay America on Van Dyke Avenue in Sterling Heights. After the shooting, he reportedly fled to his Center Line home, where police spent hours trying to coax him to leave his house and surrender. Svacha is facing one count of first-degree premeditated murder, punishable by life in prison; a felony weapons charge, punishable by up to five years in prison; resisting and obstructing a police officer, a two-year felony; and carrying a concealed weapon, a five-year felony. Sterling Heights Police Lt. Aaron Susalla testified at an exam hearing in the 41-A District Court on June 11 that the Sterling Heights Police Department’s crisis negotiations team used an app to communicate with Svacha, sending him text messages and phone calls to try to establish communication. “We have an app that we utilize where it will not reveal the detective’s phone number,” Susalla said. It took several hours before detectives got a reply from Svacha, Susalla said.
Luke Svacha is led into the courtroom before an exam hearing June 11 in the 41-A District Court in Sterling Heights. Photo by Brian Wells
See SVACHA on page 7A
Sterling Heights group connects neighbors to overcome prejudice STERLING HEIGHTS — At a time when many people stick to their silos on social media, hearing only what they want to hear, one group in Sterling Heights is trying
to connect them, creating understanding. That group is the Sterling Heights CommUNITY Alliance — a citizen-led commission appointed by the City Council. The Alliance has managed events ranging from a workshop with exhibits that simulate various impairments, to the Human
Library — a program where volunteers act as “living books” with titles reflecting who they are, and guests ask questions. “I was a ‘book’ the first year, in 2023, and my title was ‘Lesbian,’” said Cindy Bjornson, co-chair of the Alliance. Others included an atheist, a transgen-
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BY ANDY KOZLOWSKI akozlowski@candgnews.com