Unice Sharp
April 26, 2005
Battle Creek, Michigan

Battle Creek Enquirer
April 26, 2005

Body of Battle Creek cab driver found in taxi's trunk

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) -- The body of a cab driver reported 
missing early Tuesday turned up seven hours later in the trunk 
of his taxi, which was found parked near a school, police 
reported. The City Cab driver, whose identity was not released 
pending family notification, was reported missing around 1 a.m. 
About 8 a.m., police discovered a cab parked near Riverside
Elementary school. They noticed what appeared to be blood on the 
outside of the trunk. Officers called the cab company to come 
out and open the trunk. The driver was found dead inside. Police 
Chief David Headings told the Battle Creek Enquirer that no 
cause of death was immediately apparent.

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com

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WZZM-TV Channel 13
(Grand Rapids, Michigan)
April 26, 2005

Battle Creek Cab driver identified

Trace Christenson - The Enquirer

Created: 4/26/2005 3:26:24 PM

Body of man, 66, found in vehicle's trunk

The body of a Battle Creek taxi driver was discovered this
morning in the trunk of his vehicle parked near Riverside
Elementary School.

About 8 a.m., Battle Creek police said the body was found
in the trunk of the white City Cab parked in the circle
drive off the soccer field just south of the school at 650
Riverside Drive.

Police identified him as Unice Christopher Sharp, 66, of
Battle Creek. He had been an employee of City Cab for 10
years.

Police Chief David Headings said the driver was reported
missing at 1 a.m. today, and officers had been looking for
the cab. When they found the vehicle, officers discovered
what appeared to be blood on the outside of the trunk. They
called the taxi company to have the trunk opened, and then
found the driver dead inside.

Headings did not say if there's an apparent cause of
death, other than it's suspicious. A police crime lab and
tracking dog were called in, and the investigation
continues.

Anyone having information about this investigation is
asked to call Silent Observer at 964-3888 or the Battle
Creek Police Department at 966-3363.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

WWMT-TV Channel 3
(Kalamazoo, Michigan)
April 27, 2005

Police pinpoint slain cab driver's last call

April 27, 2005 - 7:17PM

Updated BATTLE CREEK (NEWS 3) - Police in Battle Creek are
retracing the last hours of a Battle Creek cab driver who was
found dead yesterday.

Sixty-six year-old Unice Sharp was found dead in the trunk of his
blood-stained cab early Tuesday morning near Riverside
elementary school. On Wednesday, an autopsy revealed that
Sharp was stabbed to death.

Now, police believe they know where he made his last call. They
say Sharp called in to report his last pick-up Monday night at 11
p.m. He let them know where he supposed to make a drop-off.

Police don't know if he ever got there.

Police say Sharp received a call for a fare from a pay phone at a
party store near Territorial and Capital Avenue at 11 o'clock. He
made a pick-up and then radioed City Cab to let them know he
was heading to Mary Street off of Main Street.

That was the last time anyone heard from Sharp. Sharp's cab
was reported missing sometime after 1 a.m. Tuesday.

Police still aren't releasing a cause of death but an autopsy was
being conducted Wednesday morning.

Police ask anyone with information to contact them at (269) 966-
3363.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

WWMT-TV Channel 3
(Kalamazoo, Michigan)
April 28, 2005

As they mourn, cabbies ponder their future

April 28, 2005 - 9:19PM

BATTLE CREEK (NEWS 3) - Questioning the dangers of driving
a cab for a living, some drivers in Battle Creek quitting or
thinking about leaving the business after one of their own was
found murdered this week.

Police found 66-year-old Unice Sharp stabbed to death in the
trunk of his cab Tuesday morning.

Greg Cady, owner of City Cab, knew Sharp for 15 years. He
recalls Sharp as a kind person, a friend, and an experienced
driver who was behind the wheel for more than 30 years.

Cady says safety is always a top concern for cab drivers. The
policy here is to turn up the radio back to dispatch if there's a
problem. Cady says Sharp never did that after he picked up his
last fare around 11 p.m. Monday night. When they hadn't heard
from Sharp in more than two hours, Cady knew something was
wrong.

Cady and other drivers drove around looking all night until
Sharp's cab was found parked near Riverside elementary. "I
knew right then it was bad," recalls Cady. "Why in the hell did
this happen to him? That's what I was thinking. Why did this
happen? There's no reason for this to happen.

In the aftermath, Cady says two of his drivers have quit. Another
two say they won't be renewing their permits.

Police say they don't know a motive is in this case but Cady says
if it was robbery, they wouldn't have gotten much. He speculates
Sharp would have had about $50 on him.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

WWMT-TV Channel 3
(Kalamazoo, Michigan)
May 9, 2005

Police search for suspect in fatal shooting of a Battle Creek
officer

May 9, 2005 - 8:11PM

BATTLE CREEK (NEWS 3) - Right now authorities are chasing
a suspect they say shot and killed a Battle Creek detective this
afternoon.

Battle Creek Police say the officer was trying to serve a warrant
for 21 year old Genail Quincy Postley. Police say Postley was a
suspect in the stabbing death of a city cab driver two weeks ago.

He is described as an African American male, 6'2", 180 pounds.
They say Postley is driving a 2003 Thunderbird with the license
plate "FLYNFUN." Postley is believed to be armed.

At this hour, authorities are attempting to track Postley down.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Genail Postley, accused of killing a detective and a taxi driver

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 10, 2005
The Enquirer

Shooting suspect may be returned to B.C. today
Man captured overnight after chase in Detroit area

Trace Christenson

The suspect in the Monday shooting death of Battle Creek Detective Lavern Brann could be returned to Battle Creek as soon as today, police said.

Genail Q. Postley Jr., 21, was arrested about 4 a.m. Tuesday after a police pursuit in Dearborn and Detroit, according to Commander James Saylor, supervisor of the Investigations Division.

Postley was arrested after a motorist in Dearborn reported seeing a car, a 2003 black Ford Thunderbird with the personalized license plate FLYNFUN, that was reported stolen in Battle Creek. A Dearborn officer stopped the car, but Saylor said the driver fled as the officer waited for other officers to arrive.

Postley then drove into Detroit with police pursuing and crashed the Thunderbird into a fence. He ran from the car and stole another vehicle at gunpoint, Saylor said.

Police finally used their patrol cars to knock that car off the roadway in Dearborn and Postley was arrested.

Saylor said a handgun stolen from Brann at the scene of the shooting at Forest Hills Apartments was recovered in the second car.

Postley is being held on a parole detainer and also is being charged with the armed robbery of the car in the Detroit area.

Postley also is expected to be named in a warrant charging him with one of two car-jackings in Battle Creek which police reported after the shooting.

He is not yet charged with the shooting which killed Brann and injured Detective Greg Huggett.

Calhoun County District Court officials said an arraignment for Postley is not yet scheduled.

Brann, 44, a 20-year veteran of the Battle Creek Police Department, was shot about 4:18 p.m. Monday when he and his partner, Detective Greg Huggett, went to the Forest Hills Apartments complex at 140 Brewer Drive.

Cmdr. James Saylor said the detectives were attempting to interview a woman and her mother about the April 26 stabbing death of Unice Sharp, a City Cab driver.

Sharp's body was found in his cab at Riverside Elementary School, about two blocks from the apartment complex.

The detectives entered a hallway and were confronted by a man with a shotgun who fired two or three times.

Brann was struck in the chest and Huggett in the leg.

Brann was taken by ambulance to Battle Creek Health System, where he was pronounced dead. Huggett was treated and released.

David Smith was inside his apartment one floor up from the shooting.

"I heard two or three shots, it's hard to tell," Smith said. "My buddy opened the door and saw the cop."

Jeff Rice, a Forest Hills resident, said he heard three gunshots.

"It really, really sounded like a gunshot, but I wasn't sure until I saw a plainclothes detective walk past me with his gun drawn and tell me to get back inside," Rice said. "I went inside and immediately locked the door and window."

Police said after the shooting, Postley ran from the building.

Marwyn Teachout, a maintenance worker at Forest Hills, said he was just about to finish working for the day and was walking in the direction of the building where the shooting occurred when a man ran past him.

"I was just getting ready to go home and he just ran past me," Teachout said.

Police said they found a shotgun not far from the apartment house but that Postley was believed to have Brann's handgun.

At Capital and Columbia avenues, Saylor said, Postley stole a pickup truck at gunpoint and fled. A short time later, on East Minges Circle, he stole a 2003 two-door black Thunderbird after forcing the driver to stop at gunpoint, Saylor said.

Neither of those drivers was hurt, Saylor said.

Postley was described as a black male, 5-feet, 9-inches tall weighing between 145 and 180 pounds. The stolen vehicle bore the personalized license plate "FLYN FUN."

Postley, paroled Jan. 22 after serving a prison sentence for assault with great bodily harm less than murder and home invasion, was the son of the woman detectives were going to interview, Saylor said. He said Postley was not a suspect in the cab driver homicide.

Nearly every Battle Creek officer reported for duty after the shooting and officers from federal, state and local departments were on hand late Monday night as the search for the suspect continued.

Police were posted on area freeways to look for the suspect vehicle, and officers fanned out into the Lakeview neighborhoods to search for Postley after gathering at the Riverside Elementary parking lot.

Police organized an ever-expanding search area. After receiving a tip, nearly three dozen officers, many of them members of the Emergency Response Team, went to a home in the 300 block of North Kendall Street about 9 p.m. Several people came out of the house, but police said Postley was not inside.

--------------

Trace Christenson covers crime and courts. He can be reached at 966-0685 or tchrist@battlecr.gannett.com.

++++++++++++

Detective Lavern Brann

++++++++++++++++

WXMI-TV Channel 17
(Grand Rapids, Michigan)
May 13, 2005

21-year-old Charged In Fatal Shooting Of Battle Creek Detective

May 13, 2005

BATTLE CREEK -- The day before the funeral for a Battle Creek
police officer the suspected killer is charged with murder.

21-year-old Genail Postley Jr., of Battle Creek, is accused of
shooting Detective Lavern Brann Monday as Brann and his
partner investigated a homicide.

44-year-old Brann went into an apartment complex to interview
Postley's mother and her daughter about the fatal stabbing of a
taxi driver. Postley is accused of shooting Brann and his partner
with a shotgun. His partner, Greg Huggett survived.

Police say Postley could be charged in the murder of cab driver
Unice Sharp as soon as next week. Sharp was killed late last
month.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

WOOD-TV Channel 8
(Grand Rapids, Michigan)
January 7, 2006

Trial to begin in man accused of killing Battle Creek detective

BATTLE CREEK The trial of a 22-year-old man accused of
murdering Battle Creek police Detective LaVern Brann is set to
begin Tuesday.
A ruling yesterday by the Michigan Court of Appeals means
proceedings will NOT include a taped confession by defendant
Genail Q. Postley Junior of Battle Creek.

The appellate decision upholds a November ruling by the
Calhoun County Circuit Court. A prosecutor says he'll appeal to
the Michigan Supreme Court. The defense has argued that the
interview continued after Postley asked for an attorney.

Forty-four-year-old Brann was killed and Detective Greg Huggett
wounded in a May Ninth shotgun shooting as they investigated
the death of a Battle Creek cab driver.

Postley is charged with open murder and other charges. He also
is charged in the cabbie's death.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Battle Creek Enquirer
(Battle Creek, Michigan)
June 17, 2006

New counsel ordered for Postley

Trace Christenson
The Enquirer

The legal delays in the case against accused murderer Genail
Postley are growing longer.

Calhoun County Circuit Judge James Kingsley, directed by the
Michigan Court of Appeals, appointed a new attorney Friday to
handle an appeal for Postley, now before the appeals court.

Postley, 22, is charged with the May 9, 2005 shooting death of
Battle Creek Police Detective LaVern Brann and was scheduled
to stand trial in January.

But in November, Kingsley ruled that most of Postley's May 10
interview with Michigan State Police detectives could not be
used at his trial because the officers did not stop the interview
after Postley asked for an attorney.

Prosecutor John Hallacy appealed the ruling and Kingsley
agreed to delay the trial.

On Jan. 6, the Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to uphold Kingsley's
ruling "for lack of merit," but Hallacy asked the Michigan
Supreme Court to rule in the case and the justices agreed,
ordering the trial delayed.

Then the Supreme Court, instead of considering the case,
ordered the Court of Appeals to conduct a full review of the
appeal and rule on the question raised in the appeal.

It's there that the case has been delayed because the Court of
Appeals said Defense Attorney John Vincent did not submit
briefs in the case. On May 18, the Appeals Court said Vincent
should be replaced in the appeal but that he could ask the court
to reconsider their decision to replace him.

Vincent failed to file his motion for reconsideration in time and
Kingsley said Friday was the day that a new attorney must be
appointed.

Neither Kingsley nor Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Clark said
they believe the court is ordering Vincent replaced as the trial
attorney.

Vincent did not appear Friday and attorney Virginia Cairns,
asked to substitute for Friday's hearing, said he was ill.

Vincent has told the Enquirer and Kingsley that he was told by
the Court of Appeals that the briefs previously submitted in the
case were sufficient for the appeal.

Attorney Ronald Pichlik was appointed to work on the appeal,
which is expected eventually to go the Michigan Supreme Court
for a final decision.

Postley, also charged with the 2005 murder of Battle Creek cab
driver Unice Sharp, remains in the county jail, held without bond.

Prosecutor John Hallacy said he doesn't know how long
appointment of a new attorney will delay the case.

"We are pleased it is moving forward but disappointed it has
taken so long," he said. "We want it to move forward as quickly
as possible."

Kingsley said he doesn't know when the appeal process might be
complete.

"I just don't know what is going to happen," he said, "but I am
ready to try this case."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Battle Creek Enquirer
(Battle Creek, Michigan)
April 13, 2007

Postley pleads to second murder

The Enquirer

Genail Postley Jr., convicted in February of the 2005 shooting
death of Battle Creek Police Det. LaVern Brann, entered a plea
Friday to another murder.

Postley, 23, pleaded no contest to 10 counts in the April 26,
2005, stabbing death of Battle Creek Cab driver Eunice Sharp.

Postley also pleaded no contest to eight counts in the May 7,
2005, armed robbery and attempted armed robbery of three
employees at Burger King, 673 Capital Ave. S.W.

Postley was convicted Feb. 14 by a jury of 27 counts, including
the murder of Brann, 44, as he and his partner, Det. Greg
Huggett, went to Forest Hills Apartments to investigate the Sharp
killing. Postley was sentenced to life in prison without parole in
that case. He will be given an identical sentence when he returns
May 25 in front of Circuit Judge James Kingsley.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

WOOD-TV Channel 8
(Grand Rapids, Michigan)
May 25, 2007

Battle Creek man again sentenced to life for killing someone

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. -- A 23-year-old man already serving life 
in prison with no possibility of parole for shooting and killing a 
city police detective has received a second life sentence for 
fatally stabbing a cab driver.

Genail Postley Jr., of Battle Creek, was sentenced Friday in 
Calhoun County Circuit Court.

He pleaded no contest April 13 to charges of first-degree murder 
and felony murder in the April 26, 2005, killing of Unice Sharp, 
66, of Battle Creek. Sharp's body was found in the trunk of his 
taxi.

A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated that 
way for sentencing purposes in Michigan. A first-degree murder 
conviction carries an automatic sentence of life in prison without 
parole.

"Not only did you butcher the life of my father, you butchered the 
lives of so many others," Christopher Sharp, the cab driver's son, 
said during the hearing.

On Feb. 14, Postley was convicted on 27 of 28 counts, including 
murder charges, stemming from the May 2005 killing of 
Detective LaVern Brann, a 20-year police veteran.

Brann, 44, was killed and another detective was shot and 
wounded when they went to an apartment building to question 
Postley about Sharp's death two weeks earlier.

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