Brighton Mom Violated Probation 

A Brighton Mom, 31-year-old Danielle Lee Priebe, was recently put on probation for leaving her two young children, aged 5 and 7, alone at home for an extended period of time. But only weeks later, she did it again. And now she’s in jail.

 
According to court documents, the first incident took place June 8th. A neighbor called police after she saw Priebe’s children standing at the intersection near their home, screaming and crying for their mother to come back and feed them. After 40 minutes of the children’s wailing, she took them into her home, giving them food before contacting law enforcement.

 
When Priebe was finally found by officers she said she’d simply run to Meijer to return a couple of items, and had intended to return home immediately. She was placed on probation as a result of that incident, but about three weeks later it happened again.

 
On July 1st, Priebe apparently again left her children at home for an extended period of time. As a result, she was arrested and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and child abuse. She was also charged with a probation violation, as one of the conditions of her probation was that she consume no alcohol. According to police, her BAC was 0.105 at the time of her arrest.

 
She appeared before Livingston County Circuit Court Judge Michael P. Hatty for sentencing, weeping bitterly during the hearing. “I’m really sorry for the foolish acts. I want to get my life under control. … I just want to get better.” she told the Judge during the sentencing. But Judge Hatty was not moved by her tears. “To leave them for four hours and crying is repugnant to my way of thinking,” he said.

 
Priebe, who had already been on probation at the time of her arrest for a prior identity theft conviction, was sentenced to 90 days in jail. She was also ordered to either participate in a substance abuse program or submit to 6 months of electronic monitoring.

 
According to Assistant Prosecutor Angela Del Vero, Priebe was sentenced to time behind bars due to the drastic cuts made to PA-511 funding. Michigan’s Community Corrections Act, also known as Public Act 511, was created to fund local government development of alternative sentences for nonviolent offenders.

 
In this case, unfortunately, there were no alternatives available for Priebe, and so she will serve time in jail. Away from her children and home.