Former Wayne County parks director Alicia Bradford has admitted her role in a late-night gun confrontation that started over a bottle of pop at a Farmington Hills gas station.
Bradford pleaded guilty Wednesday to felonious assault tied to a New Year’s Day 2025 clash that prosecutors say involved firearms at a BP station in Farmington Hills. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a separate felony-firearm count that carried a mandatory consecutive prison term. Even without that charge, Bradford still faces up to four years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 31. Her husband, Larry Bradford, is being tried separately, with his case moving into trial yesterday in Pontiac.
The Farmington Hills confrontation
The trouble started just before 1 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2025, at the BP on Orchard Lake Road, when prosecutors say Larry Bradford took issue with the cost of a $1.99 Mountain Dew and the store’s 10-cent deposit. Surveillance video and police reports describe a brief scuffle inside the store. Prosecutors say Larry then left, came back with a 9mm handgun and ordered another customer to kneel, while Alicia Bradford reentered the store holding a handgun as well, according to Hometown Life.
Plea deal and legal stakes
Under the plea agreement announced Wednesday, Bradford admitted to felonious assault, and prosecutors dropped the felony-firearm charge that would have required a mandatory two-year prison term served consecutively to any other sentence. Prosecutor Endrit Topalli argued in court filings that the decision to go retrieve a weapon turned the confrontation into a dangerous situation, and reporting indicates the plea still leaves Bradford facing up to four years when she is sentenced next month, as detailed by The Detroit News.
Trial for Larry Bradford
While Alicia Bradford waits for sentencing, her husband is already in front of a jury. Larry Bradford’s trial opened Thursday in Pontiac, where jurors in Oakland County Circuit Court began hearing opening statements and early witness testimony. One witness said Bradford told the other man, “I should (expletive) kill you,” and that the man replied, “No you shouldn’t,” testimony recounted by The Detroit News as jurors started sorting through competing stories about what triggered the clash.
Local fallout and what comes next
Bradford had led the Wayne County parks department since 2016 and was placed on administrative leave after the gas station incident, county officials told local outlets. Farmington Hills police and public-safety leaders publicly urged residents to focus on de-escalation in the wake of the confrontation, and the case has raised questions about leadership and trust in a department responsible for parks across the county, according to reporting from CBS Detroit. Alicia Bradford is set to be sentenced on March 31, 2026, while Larry Bradford’s trial continues…