Tucker Robert Cipriano, left, and Robert Cipriano )
Farmington Hills — The state suspended a probation officer Tuesday who was assigned to monitor the activities of a teenager who police say allegedly attacked family members with a baseball bat earlier this week, killing his father and seriously injuring two others.
Tucker Robert Cipriano, 19, is expected to be formally charged Wednesday in the attack that left Robert Cipriano, 52, dead, and his wife, Rose, 51, and a 17-year-old son, Salvatore, both hospitalized in critical condition. A 20-year-old man is also expected to be charged.
"Yes, he was suspended," John Cordell, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections, said of the unnamed probation officer. "The department is currently investigating any actions related to supervision of that case. At this point that's all we can say."
Cordell couldn't say whether the suspension is with or without pay.
Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan said there are specific protocols probation officers are required to follow when a probationer fails to show up for an appointment.
"They have to begin an investigation to locate (the offender) within two days of a missed report," Marlan said. "If you can't find somebody, you're supposed to go ask the judge for a warrant.
"There's a lot of supervision standards that all of our agents are to comply with. This agent was suspended while we investigate whether or not the supervision standards were met."
Marlan said the protocol includes rules on how long an officer can look for a missing probationer before reporting the delinquency to a judge, but he wasn't immediately able to say how many days are allowed.
The suspension of Tucker Cipriano's probation officer follows other incidents in which officers have been suspended by the DOC in the wake of a released convict being charged with a serious crime while on parole or probation.
Earlier this year, two parole officers were suspended following the Nov. 20 slaying of Nancy Dailey, 80, of Royal Oak. Two parole absconders charged in her death should have been in custody because they had violated terms of their probation, critics say.
Farmington Hills Police Chief Chuck Nebus said investigators were to present the Cipriano case to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office late Tuesday afternoon.
"We have been completing interviews, gathering evidence in the case and putting it all together," said Nebus. "We hope to have people charged Wednesday afternoon."
Nebus said Salvatore's twin brother, Tanner, called police with a 911 emergency call about 2 a.m. Monday to report an assault in the family's home involving a baseball bat. Nebus said Tanner and an 8-year-old sister, Isabella, hid inside the home and the girl unlocked a door for police, who arrested the 20-year-old as he attempted to flee upstairs.
Tucker was arrested six hours later in Keego Harbor, where he was staying with friends.
Among police theories in the case is that Tucker and a friend went to the Cipriano home to steal money after everyone had retired for the night. Police have recovered baseball bats they believe were used in the beatings.
Tucker, a high school dropout who has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, has two previous drug convictions, according to court records. His parents kicked him out of the house last year following his second arrest, a conviction for possession of a morphine pill. He was released from jail in February and is on two years probation.
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