Attorneys announce new locations at Pike House
Criminal defense and adoption attorney Jason Siffert has announced the location of his new office, Siffert Law, PLC, in the Pike House at 230 East Fulton St., Grand Rapids.
Also announcing a move to the Pike House is attorney Laureen A. Birdsall, who offers commercial and industrial ad valorem property tax appeal representation and litigation support services in Michigan.
The Pike House was the focus of an article in the Aug. 3 issue of the Grand Rapids Legal News.
Ex-Prosecutor enters guilty plea in felony criminal case
On Aug. 4, former Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings pled guilty to felony Misconduct in Office, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and to soliciting a prostitute. Attorney Gen-eral Bill Schuette originally charged the sitting prosecutor in March, following investigations by the FBI, Ingham County Sheriff and AG’s office into an unrelated human trafficking case.
Dunnings, who resigned from office after Schuette filed charges, was originally to have his preliminary exam conference Aug. 4. Instead, Dunnings entered the guilty plea to the new felony charge of Misconduct in Office, with a maximum of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, following negotiations with the Department of the AG. Dunnings also entered a guilty plea to Engaging the Services of a Prostitute, a 93-day misdemeanor that carries a $500 maximum fine and mandates collection of Dunning’s DNA for entering into the CODIS database.
Schuette’s office announced it intends to seek a prison sentence for Dunnings on the charge of Misconduct in Office,
The plea was entered before Judge Michael J. Klaeren of the 12th District Court in Jackson.
The charges grew out of a 2015 federal investigation into a Michigan-based sex trafficking ring. The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan filed federal charges in that case against Tyrone Smith, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Investigation based on information provided by witnesses led to Dunnings, resulting in evidence he engaged in commercial sex numerous times with multiple women in Ingham, Clinton and Ionia counties from 2010-2015. Dunnings was originally also charged with Pandering, a 20-year felony; he allegedly induced a woman not previously a prostitute to become one. That charge was dropped in order to avoid re-victimizing the woman.
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