Ronald
Ilitch in 36th District Court in
Detroit on Thursday Aug. 28, 2014
during his video arraignment.
Ilitch, who at the time was 57, had
been charged with one count of
possession of less than 25 grams of
a controlled substance (cocaine),
which carries a maximum penalty of
four years in prison.(Photo: Max
Ortiz , The Detroit News )
In
September
2014 in
Wayne
County
Probate
Court,
Ilitch
pleaded
guilty
to
cocaine
possession
as part
of a
plea
deal,
receiving
one year
of
probation
and
service
in an
alternate
work
force
program.
He
avoided
the
felony
charge.
(Twitter
Photo)
Privileged,
yet
troubled
life
comes to
tragic
end,
Ilitch
heir
dies
from
drug
overdose
By
Wendell
Bryant
Tell Us
Detroit
DETROIT
(Tell Us
Det) -
Ron
Ilitch,
whose
family
owns the
Detroit
Red
Wings
and
Detroit
Tigers,
has
died.
Ilitch,
61, was
found at
the
Marriott
Hotel in
Troy, MI
after
local
police
received
a call
Friday
afternoon.
The
Oakland
County
Medical
Examiner's
Office
has
conducted
an
autopsy
and
determined
the
cause of
death as
an
apparent
overdose.
Christopher
Ilitch,
president
and CEO
of
Ilitch
Holdings,
released
a
statement
saying,
“On
behalf
of my
mother
Marian
Ilitch
and our
entire
family,
I want
to
express
our
sadness
and
grief at
Ron’s
passing.
We’re
devastated
about
this
loss,
and we
ask for
respect
of the
family’s
privacy
during
this
difficult
time.”
Ilitch
was, at
one
point,
employed
with
Ilitch
Holdings
and
scouted
locations
for new
Little
Caesars
restaurants.
But as a
result
of his
constant
brush
with the
law and
drug
habit,
the
company
cut ties
with
him.
Sources
report
that he
was paid
to stay
away
from the
pizza
dynasty.
In
August
2014,
Detroit
police,
during a
traffic
stop
found
him in
possession
of
cocaine.
He was
charged
in the
case,
but
instead
of
possession
of
cocaine,
he was
allowed
to plea
down to
usage of
cocaine
to avoid
jail or
prison
time. He
was
given a
year's
probation.
In
2004,
according
to the
clerk’s
office
with the
52nd
District
Court’s
4th
Division,
Ronald
Ilitch
was
arrested
in
Oakland
County
on an
alleged
domestic
violence
claim.
He was
charged
with two
misdemeanors,
pleaded
no
contest
and was
given
six
months
of
probation.
State
records
indicate
that he
was on
probation
until
May for
a more
recent
offense.
Chris
Gautz,
spokesman
for the
Michigan
Department
of
Corrections,
said the
MDOC was
supervising
him on
behalf
of
Colorado
for an
operating
while
intoxicated
offense
that
occurred
in that
state.
His
supervision
conditions
included
staying
away
from
drugs
and
alcohol,
and
making
"genuine
efforts"
to find
employment.
The
Ilitch
family
owns
many
businesses,
which
include
Little
Caesars
pizza,
MotorCity
Casino
Hotel
and
ownership
of the
Detroit
Tigers
and Red
Wings.
Troy
Police
Sgt.
Meghan
Lehman
said the
circumstances
of the
hotel
death
are
still
under
investigation.
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