A Detroit man was arrested Thursday for making threats against Mayor Sheffield.

Sterling Anthony Peters was charged after threatening Sheffield twice on Monday, Oct. 5. The first occurred when Peters entered the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center downtown, attempting to access Mayor Sheffield’s office.

When officers attempted to remove him, according to prosecutors, he threatened to “shoot up” the building.

Later, Peters entered the Detroit Police Headquarters, where he was promptly escorted out by officers. While they were doing so, he made another threat, this time to hurt Mayor Sheffield directly.

In court Thursday, Peters’ attorneys suggested he may be dealing with a mental health crisis, as he has recently faced a death in the family.

In a statement released Thursday, Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy asserted her zero-tolerance policy on threats of this nature. 

“We will absolutely not tolerate threats to elected officials including our judges. These threats are on the rise and are extremely concerning. We will prove the charge in this case in court beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Peters was arraigned Thursday on one count of making a false report or threat of terrorism. He received a $50,000 bond and is currently on house arrest.

Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources announced the 2025 discovery of a centuries-old stand of red pine trees last week.

The trees, which can be identified by their scaly, reddish-brown bark, were discovered during a routine survey of the state-owned forest near the Two-Hearted River on the shore of Lake Superior.

This discovery comes as a surprise, as most of Michigan’s known red pines were harvested during the lumber boom of the 1800s.

Core samples taken from some of the trees point to them being over 200 years old. Visual estimates for other trees, however, suggest they may be between 300 and 400 years old, pre-dating European settlement in the area.

The forester that found the area calls the stand of red pines “Ghost on the Shore.”

This story is a part of WDET’s ongoing series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project.