Novi Restaurateur Gets Nine Months Prison in Deaths of Five Immigrants | Eater Detroit

"The owner of a Novi Chinese restaurant was convicted of harboring five undocumented immigrants who were living in the couple’s home's basement and who died in a 2016 basement fire. Federal prosecutors argued the living quarters were dangerous—lacking sufficient smoke detectors and offering only a single stairway to exit—while the judge, noting that the space otherwise would have been “excellent,” imposed a nine-month prison term on the owner (after prosecutors sought seven years) and a year of supervised release for his wife. The five victims—Miguel Nunez Diaz, Leonel Alvarado Rodriguez, Simeon Diaz Nunez, Pablo Alvaro Encino, and Brayan Alexis Medina Contreras—were found to have died from soot and smoke inhalation after failing to escape; examiners linked the blaze to smoking and reported that three of the victims had been heavily drinking. The restaurant closed a year after the incident." - Serena Maria Daniels