Michigan
Former police officer sentenced for embezzling from youth group
Jack Barnes, 29, a former Warren police officer, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on a charge stemming from his on-duty conduct involving the Police Explorer Program, a charitable organization for youth interested in law enforcement, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido. On or about Friday, July 4, 2025, Barnes, who served as an associate advisor for the Explorer Post, misappropriated funds belonging to the program.
On Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, at a Probable Cause Conference at the 40th District Court in St. Clair Shores, MI, Barnes pled guilty to an added Count Two of Embezzlement from a Non-Profit, Less than $200, a one-year misdemeanor. Count One, Embezzlement, $200 or More but Less than $1,000 from a Non-Profit or Charitable Organization, a 5-year felony, was dismissed. Barnes paid the full restitution amount of $530 and a $600 fine. Judge Theodore Metry sentenced Barnes to 12 months of probation and ordered him to complete both a Class A Impulse Control Program and the Economic Crimes Prevention Program, and not engage in any criminal activity.
Barnes was terminated from the Warren Police Department after his arraignment on the embezzling charge.
Michigan
Man arraigned on murder charge related to stabbing at group home
Michael Hogoboom, 57, of Eastpointe was arraigned on a murder charge stemming from an alleged stabbing that occurred in the group home Hogoboom shared with the victim and five other individuals, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido.
It is alleged that on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025, Hogoboom stabbed his 32-year-old housemate multiple times in their Eastpointe home. Emergency medical personnel were summoned. They administered life-saving measures before transporting the victim to Henry Ford St. John Hospital in Detroit, where he was later pronounced dead.
On Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, Hogoboom was arraigned before Magistrate Mark Makowski at the 38th District Court in Eastpointe, MI. Hogoboom was charged with Homicide - Murder – Second Degree, a life or any term of years felony. Magistrate Makowski set bond at $1 million cash/surety. If he posts bond and is released, he must wear a steel cuff tether, have no contact with the victim’s family, and is not to purchase or possess any firearm or dangerous weapon.
Ohio
Drugs sneaked into prison soaked into the pages of ‘Hillbilly Elegy’
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Vice President JD Vance’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” has a storied history as a New York Times bestseller, as the then-31-year-old’s introduction to the nation as a “Trump whisperer,” as a divisive subject among Appalachian scholars, and, eventually, as a Ron Howard-directed movie.
Its latest role? Secretly transporting drugs into an Ohio prison.
The book was one of three items whose pages 30-year-old Austin Siebert, of Maumee southwest of Toledo, has been convicted of spraying with narcotics and then shipping to Grafton Correctional Institution disguised as Amazon orders. The others were a 2019 GRE Handbook and a separate piece of paper, according to court documents.
On Nov. 18, U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent sentenced Siebert to more than a decade in prison for his role in the drug trafficking scheme.
Siebert and an inmate at the prison were caught in a recorded conversation discussing the shipment. He either didn’t know or didn’t care that a central theme of “Hillbilly Elegy” is the impacts of narcotics addiction on Vance’s family and the broader culture.
“Is it Hillbilly?” the inmate asks.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Siebert replies, momentarily confused. Then, suddenly remembering, he says, “Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s the book, the book I’m reading. (Expletive) romance novel.”
Michigan
Vet who refused to return ailing dog to homeless man sentenced to 10 days in jail
A Michigan veterinarian was sentenced to 10 days in jail Monday for refusing to return a dog to a homeless man after finding the ailing pit bull mix tied to a truck.
Amanda Hergenreder’s lawyer asked for 120 hours of community service for the misdemeanor larceny conviction. But Grand Rapids Judge Angela Ross said jail was more appropriate for her, plus $1,000 in restitution.
A year ago, Hergenreder was in Grand Rapids for a professional conference when she saw the 16-year-old dog tied to a truck near a coffee shop. She said she took him to her clinic, two hours away, cleared up a severe urinary tract infection and removed a rotten tooth.
Prosecutors charged Hergenreder after she refused to bring the dog back to Chris Hamilton, a Grand Rapids man who lacked a permanent home at the time. She cited her ethical duties as a veterinarian and noted that the dog wasn’t licensed. A jury, however, convicted her at a two-day trial.
Hergenreder told the judge that she saw a “dog in distress.” But she also acknowledged that she “failed to see the whole picture.”
“I failed to honor the bond between Vinnie and Mr. Hamilton. I failed to recognize the heartbreak that would follow,” the Millington, Michigan, veterinarian said before being sentenced. “I failed to stop, think, and ask questions.”
Vinnie — or Biggby, as Hergenreder called him — was euthanized in July because of health problems in old age.
“We’re disappointed in Dr. Hergenreder being sentenced to jail, but we take solace in the fact that Biggby/Vinnie spent his last few months in a warm, safe, loving, caring environment,” defense attorney Miles Greengard said.
Michigan
Jury convicts man for repeated sexual assaults on a minor child
Dearborn resident Elie Otayek, 43, on multiple counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct. The charges stem from repeated assaults on a minor child over several years in Roseville, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido.
On Friday, November 21, 2025, following a three-day jury trial led by Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kelsey Heath, a Macomb County jury convicted Otayek of the following charges:
• Two counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct – First Degree (victim under 13, defendant 17 or older). The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years, with the possibility of life imprisonment.
• Criminal Sexual Conduct – Second Degree (victim under 13, defendant 17 or older), a 15-year felony.
The jury reached its verdict after eight hours of deliberation.
In addition to a minimum 25-year prison sentence. Otayek, if ever released, will be subject to lifetime electronic monitoring.
Otayek was remanded to the custody of the Macomb County Jail pending sentencing, which is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. before Macomb County Circuit Court Judge James M. Maceroni.
Michigan
Court of Appeals upholds embezzlement of vulnerable adult convictions of Scottville woman
The Michigan Court of Appeals has affirmed the conviction of Jessica Englebrecht (PDF), 38, formerly of Scottville, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Englebrecht was appointed as a guardian and/or conservator for multiple adults from 2017 to 2019. During that time, she embezzled more than $20,000 from 10 vulnerable adults she was appointed to protect and additionally commingled her clients’ funds. A Mason County jury found Englebrecht guilty in September 2023 of:
• Eight counts of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult - $1,000 or more but less than $20,000;
• One count of vulnerable adults – caregiver commingling funds/obstructing investigations;
• One count of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult – $200 or more but less than $1,000; and
• One count of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult – less than $200.
Englebrecht was sentenced to 35 months to 7 years’ incarceration and ordered to pay $21,409 in restitution.
“Michigan’s vulnerable adults deserve to know that the law will protect them from financial exploitation by those entrusted with their care,” Nessel said. “I am relieved that the Court has upheld this conviction, and I am proud of the work my office has and will continue to do to stand up for some of our state’s most vulnerable residents.”
In its opinion, the Court of Appeals found that there was sufficient evidence presented at Englebrecht’s jury trial to find her guilty and that Englebrecht received effective counsel.
Michigan
Man charged with fraud, failing to pay taxes on more than $1 million in unlicensed marijuana sales
Shaun Michael Brown, 48, of Holland, was arraigned on Friday in the 58th District Court in Hudsonville by Magistrate Mark Bos on seven felony charges for allegedly defrauding a victim and failing to pay taxes on more than $1.1 million that he earned from unlicensed marijuana sales, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. He has been charged with one count of False Pretenses, $50,000 but less than $100,000, a 15-year felony, and six counts of Taxes-Failure to File/False Return, each 5-year felonies.
Brown is accused of defrauding the victim by selling him a 2021 Corvette for $95,000 and then failing to provide the victim with a valid title to the vehicle. It is also alleged that Brown never paid income or sales taxes from 2020 through 2022 on the vehicle sale proceeds, or on the more than $1.1 million that he earned from unlicensed marijuana sales.
This case was referred to the Attorney General’s Office by the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department, who assisted with the investigation, along with the Michigan State Police’s Marijuana and Tobacco Investigation Section.
“Sales tax revenue supports our schools, our roads, and services our communities depend on,” Nessel said. “I would like to thank the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police for their diligent work in investigating this matter. My office will continue to enforce Michigan’s tax laws and protect residents from fraud.”
A probable cause conference has been scheduled on December 4, 2025, at 2 p.m., and a preliminary examination has been scheduled on December 18, 2025, at 10:30 a.m., both before Judge Judith Mulder in Ottawa County’s 58thDistrict Court.
Former police officer sentenced for embezzling from youth group
Jack Barnes, 29, a former Warren police officer, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on a charge stemming from his on-duty conduct involving the Police Explorer Program, a charitable organization for youth interested in law enforcement, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido. On or about Friday, July 4, 2025, Barnes, who served as an associate advisor for the Explorer Post, misappropriated funds belonging to the program.
On Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, at a Probable Cause Conference at the 40th District Court in St. Clair Shores, MI, Barnes pled guilty to an added Count Two of Embezzlement from a Non-Profit, Less than $200, a one-year misdemeanor. Count One, Embezzlement, $200 or More but Less than $1,000 from a Non-Profit or Charitable Organization, a 5-year felony, was dismissed. Barnes paid the full restitution amount of $530 and a $600 fine. Judge Theodore Metry sentenced Barnes to 12 months of probation and ordered him to complete both a Class A Impulse Control Program and the Economic Crimes Prevention Program, and not engage in any criminal activity.
Barnes was terminated from the Warren Police Department after his arraignment on the embezzling charge.
Michigan
Man arraigned on murder charge related to stabbing at group home
Michael Hogoboom, 57, of Eastpointe was arraigned on a murder charge stemming from an alleged stabbing that occurred in the group home Hogoboom shared with the victim and five other individuals, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido.
It is alleged that on Monday, Nov. 17, 2025, Hogoboom stabbed his 32-year-old housemate multiple times in their Eastpointe home. Emergency medical personnel were summoned. They administered life-saving measures before transporting the victim to Henry Ford St. John Hospital in Detroit, where he was later pronounced dead.
On Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025, Hogoboom was arraigned before Magistrate Mark Makowski at the 38th District Court in Eastpointe, MI. Hogoboom was charged with Homicide - Murder – Second Degree, a life or any term of years felony. Magistrate Makowski set bond at $1 million cash/surety. If he posts bond and is released, he must wear a steel cuff tether, have no contact with the victim’s family, and is not to purchase or possess any firearm or dangerous weapon.
Ohio
Drugs sneaked into prison soaked into the pages of ‘Hillbilly Elegy’
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Vice President JD Vance’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” has a storied history as a New York Times bestseller, as the then-31-year-old’s introduction to the nation as a “Trump whisperer,” as a divisive subject among Appalachian scholars, and, eventually, as a Ron Howard-directed movie.
Its latest role? Secretly transporting drugs into an Ohio prison.
The book was one of three items whose pages 30-year-old Austin Siebert, of Maumee southwest of Toledo, has been convicted of spraying with narcotics and then shipping to Grafton Correctional Institution disguised as Amazon orders. The others were a 2019 GRE Handbook and a separate piece of paper, according to court documents.
On Nov. 18, U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent sentenced Siebert to more than a decade in prison for his role in the drug trafficking scheme.
Siebert and an inmate at the prison were caught in a recorded conversation discussing the shipment. He either didn’t know or didn’t care that a central theme of “Hillbilly Elegy” is the impacts of narcotics addiction on Vance’s family and the broader culture.
“Is it Hillbilly?” the inmate asks.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Siebert replies, momentarily confused. Then, suddenly remembering, he says, “Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That’s the book, the book I’m reading. (Expletive) romance novel.”
Michigan
Vet who refused to return ailing dog to homeless man sentenced to 10 days in jail
A Michigan veterinarian was sentenced to 10 days in jail Monday for refusing to return a dog to a homeless man after finding the ailing pit bull mix tied to a truck.
Amanda Hergenreder’s lawyer asked for 120 hours of community service for the misdemeanor larceny conviction. But Grand Rapids Judge Angela Ross said jail was more appropriate for her, plus $1,000 in restitution.
A year ago, Hergenreder was in Grand Rapids for a professional conference when she saw the 16-year-old dog tied to a truck near a coffee shop. She said she took him to her clinic, two hours away, cleared up a severe urinary tract infection and removed a rotten tooth.
Prosecutors charged Hergenreder after she refused to bring the dog back to Chris Hamilton, a Grand Rapids man who lacked a permanent home at the time. She cited her ethical duties as a veterinarian and noted that the dog wasn’t licensed. A jury, however, convicted her at a two-day trial.
Hergenreder told the judge that she saw a “dog in distress.” But she also acknowledged that she “failed to see the whole picture.”
“I failed to honor the bond between Vinnie and Mr. Hamilton. I failed to recognize the heartbreak that would follow,” the Millington, Michigan, veterinarian said before being sentenced. “I failed to stop, think, and ask questions.”
Vinnie — or Biggby, as Hergenreder called him — was euthanized in July because of health problems in old age.
“We’re disappointed in Dr. Hergenreder being sentenced to jail, but we take solace in the fact that Biggby/Vinnie spent his last few months in a warm, safe, loving, caring environment,” defense attorney Miles Greengard said.
Michigan
Jury convicts man for repeated sexual assaults on a minor child
Dearborn resident Elie Otayek, 43, on multiple counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct. The charges stem from repeated assaults on a minor child over several years in Roseville, according to Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido.
On Friday, November 21, 2025, following a three-day jury trial led by Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kelsey Heath, a Macomb County jury convicted Otayek of the following charges:
• Two counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct – First Degree (victim under 13, defendant 17 or older). The charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years, with the possibility of life imprisonment.
• Criminal Sexual Conduct – Second Degree (victim under 13, defendant 17 or older), a 15-year felony.
The jury reached its verdict after eight hours of deliberation.
In addition to a minimum 25-year prison sentence. Otayek, if ever released, will be subject to lifetime electronic monitoring.
Otayek was remanded to the custody of the Macomb County Jail pending sentencing, which is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. before Macomb County Circuit Court Judge James M. Maceroni.
Michigan
Court of Appeals upholds embezzlement of vulnerable adult convictions of Scottville woman
The Michigan Court of Appeals has affirmed the conviction of Jessica Englebrecht (PDF), 38, formerly of Scottville, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Englebrecht was appointed as a guardian and/or conservator for multiple adults from 2017 to 2019. During that time, she embezzled more than $20,000 from 10 vulnerable adults she was appointed to protect and additionally commingled her clients’ funds. A Mason County jury found Englebrecht guilty in September 2023 of:
• Eight counts of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult - $1,000 or more but less than $20,000;
• One count of vulnerable adults – caregiver commingling funds/obstructing investigations;
• One count of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult – $200 or more but less than $1,000; and
• One count of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult – less than $200.
Englebrecht was sentenced to 35 months to 7 years’ incarceration and ordered to pay $21,409 in restitution.
“Michigan’s vulnerable adults deserve to know that the law will protect them from financial exploitation by those entrusted with their care,” Nessel said. “I am relieved that the Court has upheld this conviction, and I am proud of the work my office has and will continue to do to stand up for some of our state’s most vulnerable residents.”
In its opinion, the Court of Appeals found that there was sufficient evidence presented at Englebrecht’s jury trial to find her guilty and that Englebrecht received effective counsel.
Michigan
Man charged with fraud, failing to pay taxes on more than $1 million in unlicensed marijuana sales
Shaun Michael Brown, 48, of Holland, was arraigned on Friday in the 58th District Court in Hudsonville by Magistrate Mark Bos on seven felony charges for allegedly defrauding a victim and failing to pay taxes on more than $1.1 million that he earned from unlicensed marijuana sales, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. He has been charged with one count of False Pretenses, $50,000 but less than $100,000, a 15-year felony, and six counts of Taxes-Failure to File/False Return, each 5-year felonies.
Brown is accused of defrauding the victim by selling him a 2021 Corvette for $95,000 and then failing to provide the victim with a valid title to the vehicle. It is also alleged that Brown never paid income or sales taxes from 2020 through 2022 on the vehicle sale proceeds, or on the more than $1.1 million that he earned from unlicensed marijuana sales.
This case was referred to the Attorney General’s Office by the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department, who assisted with the investigation, along with the Michigan State Police’s Marijuana and Tobacco Investigation Section.
“Sales tax revenue supports our schools, our roads, and services our communities depend on,” Nessel said. “I would like to thank the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police for their diligent work in investigating this matter. My office will continue to enforce Michigan’s tax laws and protect residents from fraud.”
A probable cause conference has been scheduled on December 4, 2025, at 2 p.m., and a preliminary examination has been scheduled on December 18, 2025, at 10:30 a.m., both before Judge Judith Mulder in Ottawa County’s 58thDistrict Court.
