West Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees member Jim Manna has been sitting in the Oakland County Jail since Sunday night, arrested by West Bloomfield Township Police, and as of this week, he still has not been formally charged with any crime. The 65-year-old real estate broker, first elected to the township board in November 2024, remains jailed well beyond the 48-hour window authorities are typically allowed to hold a suspect without filing charges, and officials have offered almost no explanation as to why.
According to The Detroit News, West Bloomfield Township Police initially handled Manna's case before deferring it to Oakland County Sheriff's detectives, who have been investigating unnamed allegations against him. Reporter Tyler Sweers pressed investigators on why Manna remained jailed without charges, and Oakland County Sheriff spokesperson Jeff Wattrick said only that a warrant request seeking charges against Manna was under review. Oakland County Sheriff's investigators had already submitted that warrant request to prosecutors, but as of the newspaper's report, no charges had been filed.
The delay bumps up against a well-established constitutional line. Under the 1991 U.S. Supreme Court decision in County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, individuals arrested without a warrant must receive a judicial determination of probable cause within 48 hours, according to the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. After that window closes, the burden shifts to law enforcement to prove an extraordinary emergency justifies holding someone longer without charges.
Township Leaders Offer Few Answers
West Bloomfield Township Supervisor Jonathan Warshay said he was aware of Manna's arrest but did not know the details surrounding it. Warshay told the paper there was no further information available about the charges or circumstances of Manna's arrest, and he said the township would provide updates as verified information becomes available.
Warshay also urged residents to respect the judicial process and the presumption of innocence while the matter plays out, and he said township business would continue as usual in the meantime. The comments come just days after Warshay himself won the Democratic nomination for township supervisor with 59% of the vote against challenger Jonathan Landsman in the Aug. 4 primary, according to EMS1.
A Familiar Face in West Bloomfield
Manna is well known beyond the township board room. He operates Level Plus Realty, a real estate brokerage he owns with offices on Orchard Lake Road in West Bloomfield Township, according to Real Estate One. He also serves as an Executive Committee member on the Board of Directors for the Chaldean Community Foundation, a regional nonprofit serving Chaldean Americans across Metro Detroit.
His civic profile has included interfaith outreach as well. In March, Manna appeared on Civic Center TV as a township trustee alongside a Temple Israel representative to discuss strengthening unity between West Bloomfield's Chaldean and Jewish communities following a local incident, per Civic Center TV.
How Manna Got to the Board
Manna won his seat on the West Bloomfield Board of Trustees after placing third among Democratic candidates with 4,691 votes in the August 2024 primary, then advanced to run unopposed in that November's general election, according to ClickOnDetroit. That path reflects a pattern in the township, where Democratic primary winners typically face no general election opposition.
The seven-member Board of Trustees, made up of an elected supervisor, clerk, treasurer, and four trustees serving four-year terms, has seen recent turnover. Leadership shifted in December 2024 when former Supervisor Steven Kaplan resigned to join the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, prompting the board to appoint Warshay as supervisor and retired Police Chief Michael Patton as a trustee, according to C & G Newspapers.
Manna has remained active on the board since his election, including recusing himself from a vote this past April on a proposed car wash rezoning at Maple and Farmington roads because he was related to the project's developer, the same outlet reported. Should any charges ultimately be filed against Manna, Michigan law under MCL 168.951 allows elected township officers, including trustees, to be recalled by registered township voters upon the filing and certification of recall petitions, according to the Michigan Legislature.
