A former Wayne County Parks director will serve probation for her role in a dispute in which she pulled a gun over a 10-cent pop bottle deposit at a Farmington Hills gas station.
Alicia Bradford, 56, was sentenced to 11 months probation on March 31 by Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Yasmine Poles as part of an agreement after she pleaded guilty to one charge of felonious assault in late February. A second charge of felony firearm was dismissed.
Her husband, Larry Bradford, 72, was found guilty by a jury in February of both felonious assault and felony firearm in the same incident and will be sentenced April 14.
Todd Perkins, attorney for Alicia Bradford, was not immediately available for comment.
Farmington Hills police say they responded at 12:54 a.m. Jan. 1, 2025, to the BP Gas Station in the 27000 block of Orchard Lake Road, where Larry Bradford, 72, appeared to believe he was being mistakenly charged for sales tax on a can of Mountain Dew. The clerk explained it was a 10-cent deposit, according to the police report and video obtained by Hometown Life.
A male customer standing behind Bradford interjected a comment of “There is now” in response to Bradford telling the clerk there was no sales tax.A physical altercation between Larry Bradford and the other customer ensued, with Bradford stating he was going to get his pistol. Bradford left the store, then reentered with a gun in his hand, ordering the other man to his knees and demanding an apology.
According to the police report, Larry Bradford struck the man with his left hand and also told the man, “I should kill you… I should blow your … brains out.”
Alicia Bradford then entered the store and was shown with a black handgun in her hand, demanding to know what has happened.
Police said she kept her gun pointed at the man and told him, “I could do something to you, I could kill you,” while she had her phone out to call 911. Alicia Bradford told police she pulled the gun out of her pocket but kept it at her side and never pointed it at anyone.
Bradford, who was the Wayne County parks director, was suspended without pay immediately following the incident and resigned her position in February 2025.
As part of her sentencing, Alicia Bradford is to not possess any firearms or other deadly weapons, complete a gun safety class and anger management program, and write a letter of apology to the victim. If she completes the terms of her probation, the felony assault charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery on her record.
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Ex-Wayne County parks director sentenced for New Year’s Day gun incident
Reporting by Susan Bromley, Hometownlife.com / Hometownlife.com
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
