Troy News This Week

A 79-year-old Troy man is charged with four counts of aggravated hate crime after police say he threatened four Muslim men outside the Troy Public Library. A fire at Troy Villa on Stephenson Highway claims a life and remains under investigation, and City Council approves a library technology center redesign and six new self-checkout machines. Brooklyn bassist Trevor Robertson, who grew up in Troy, releases his debut jazz album, and Troy Daze closes out its run Sunday at the Troy Civic Center. Rain opens the week before highs climb to 75 by Saturday. Comments are open below.

The Weather: Sunday's Rain Gives Way to a Warm Saturday

Saturday is the week's warmest day at 75°, 16 degrees above Wednesday's 59°, the week's coolest. Sunday brings the heaviest rain, 0.84 inches with a 48% chance, and lighter rain returns Wednesday (0.11 inches) and Thursday (0.05 inches). Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday are dry.

The News

Troy man charged with four counts of aggravated hate crime over threats outside library

Peter Hamilton Northup, 79, of Troy, was charged Sept. 14 with four counts of aggravated hate crime after authorities said he threatened four Muslim men outside the Troy Public Library on Saturday, Sept. 12, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald announced. The four men were outside the library providing free English translations of the Quran and answering questions about Islam, according to the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations; the group said a man approached them, asked whether they were Muslim, then told them he had a gun and threatened to kill them. McDonald said Northup was carrying a loaded pistol when Troy police arrested him. She said Northup has dementia and a history of welfare checks related to his declining mental health, holds a concealed pistol license, and has 22 firearms registered in his name; police filed an Extreme Risk Protection Order petition and recovered 19 firearms. “The right to own firearms comes with an obligation to use them safely and responsibly,” McDonald said. “This defendant's mental health issues and alleged actions make clear that he should not have access to deadly weapons.” CAIR-MI executive director Dawud Walid said the men “were peacefully exercising their constitutional rights.” Each count carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine. As of Sept. 14 his arraignment had not been scheduled.

Source: The Detroit News, September 14, 2026; ClickOnDetroit / WDIV Local 4, September 15, 2026

Fatal fire at Troy Villa apartment complex under investigation

A person died in a fire the morning of Sept. 3 at Troy Villa, 2100 Stephenson Highway, according to the Troy Fire Department. Firefighters responded to an 8 a.m. report of flames and smoke, encountered heavy fire and smoke conditions, and found the building had already partially collapsed; once the blaze was extinguished, they located the deceased inside. Troy Fire Lt. Keith Young said the fire's origin and cause remain under investigation by the Troy Fire and Police departments, and that the department could not yet release the deceased's residency status or the circumstances of the death. No other civilian or firefighter injuries were reported. The department offers free smoke-alarm home evaluations for residents who request one at troymi.gov/smokealarm.

Source: C&G Newspapers, September 15, 2026

Troy City Council approves library technology center redesign and new self-checkout machines

The Troy City Council voted unanimously at its Aug. 31 meeting to approve a redesign of the Troy Public Library's technology center and the purchase of six new self-checkout machines. The redesign is estimated at nearly $317,770 plus a 15% contingency; the machines cost $54,048. Library director Emily Dumas said the technology center — unchanged since 2000 — is overcrowded and hard for staff to navigate; OHM Advisors' redesign turns patrons to face a wall instead of each other, adds acoustic panels and desk space, and could take three months, during which computers move to the magazine section. The six EnvisionWare self-checkout machines, which account for 40% of in-house checkouts, cost $54,048 and replace machines reaching end-of-life. Councilmember David Hamilton supported the spending but said he is “still strongly advocating for a new library” and remains wary of capital spending on the current building until voters decide on a future one.

Source: C&G Newspapers, September 15, 2026

Troy Daze closes its run Sunday at the Troy Civic Center

Troy Daze, the city's community festival that began Sept. 17, runs its final hours noon to 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20, at the Troy Civic Center. Admission is $5 cash or $7 by credit card, with free parking around the Troy Community Center or a free shuttle from the Library Center parking garage at 100 W. Big Beaver Road.

Source: The Oakland Press community calendar, September 18, 2026

Brooklyn bassist who grew up in Troy releases debut jazz album

Trevor Robertson, a Brooklyn-based upright and electric bassist who grew up in Troy and studied at Wayne State University, released his album “Bright Colors” in early August, a mix he calls contemporary jazz with jazz fusion, Western classical, rock and funk influences. Robertson credited Troy's school music program, which he entered on violin in fifth-grade orchestra; he moved to bass two years later, after a middle school teacher announced the orchestra had no bass players. The album, aided by a Brooklyn Arts Council Local Arts Support grant, is a tribute to Iesha Renee Spence Oyabunmi, a former partner who died about six years ago; Robertson said the title reflects both her fashion sense and the “sensory maximalism” of her personality. He co-hosts a Monday-night jazz jam at Sour Mouse in New York City and said the album has drawn radio play nationally and in Europe since release.

Source: C&G Newspapers, September 15, 2026

Metro Detroit

Michigan Supreme Court sends Ethan Crumbley's life sentence back for appeals court review

The Michigan Supreme Court on Sept. 17 remanded Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley's case to the Michigan Court of Appeals, ordering it to review whether Crumbley had an ineffective lawyer, whether a judge abused his discretion in finding prosecutors provided enough evidence to justify mandatory life without parole, and whether comments Crumbley made at sentencing waived his right to appeal. Crumbley, now 20, was 15 on Nov. 30, 2021, when he killed four students and wounded seven others, including a teacher, at Oxford High School with a gun his parents bought him for Christmas; he is housed at the Oaks Correctional Facility in Manistee. The Michigan Court of Appeals denied his requests to withdraw his guilty plea or be resentenced last year. The review follows the U.S. Supreme Court's 2012 ruling in Miller v. Alabama, which held that the Eighth Amendment bars mandatory life-without-parole sentences for those under 18 convicted of murder without a case-by-case review of youth and circumstances.

Source: Deadline Detroit (Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press), September 19, 2026

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