ALLEGAN COUNTY, Mich. (May, 22, 2014) — Thursday afternoon a man appeared before an Allegan County judge via video conference.
The man was in a hospital gown for his arraignment on a theft charge. The judge said he was staying at Pine Rest in Kent County.
At a probable cause hearing on Wednesday, a state trooper explained the allegations to the judge. An alleged confrontation took place before a suspicious package was found at Dorr Elementary School. Michigan State Police say the man approached a real estate agent taking pictures of a property near the school.
During the hearing, an unidentified trooper testified, “While [the real estate agent] was there taking photographs of that property, he came across the street and confronted [the real estate agent].”
The trooper said the man asked the agent why he was taking pictures. That’s when the agent showed him his identification card, showing he was a real estate agent. Police said the man went to grab it.
“[He] grabbed at [the real estate agent’s] camera, trying to take it. [He] said, ‘Give me that camera,'” the trooper explained.
The man didn’t get ahold of the camera, but police say he yanked the real estate agent’s ID from his neck and took off. Police tracked down the man and found the ID in the trunk of his car that was parked at the library.
[He] was also seen near the school where a suspicious package was found. Right now, he’s only facing a larceny charge for taking the badge.
The man replied to the judge about the allegation.
“This is true,” he began to elaborate. The judge replied, “I’m not asking you whether it’s true or not. I’m asking you whether you understand what you’re charged with.”
He said, “I understand what I’m charged with. Not guilty.”
It’s still unclear whether he’ll face charges for the ‘suspicious package’ at the school. FOX 17 did a criminal background check. The man had a clean record. He was held on $50,000 bond, and his prelim is scheduled for early June.
