MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — The Whitehall funeral director who allegedly buried an empty urn and misled a family into thinking it contained a relative’s cremated remains has been arrested for drunk driving.
Thomas Claude Clock III was arrested at about 1 a.m. Friday morning after being pulled over by Whitehall Police for erratic driving, according to Muskegon County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Timothy Maat.
Clock is facing a charge of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, second offense. It’s the second time this year he has been charged with drunk driving, according to Maat.
Clock was arrested on another second offense drunk driving charge in January. According to Maat, he isn’t charged with third offense drunk driving because he hasn’t been convicted in that case.
Clock turned himself in in early March on charges of fraud, attempted larceny by conversion of at least $1,000 and conducting mortuary services without a license in connection with the empty urn case.
The body of the person whose cremated remains were supposed to be placed in the urn was found in his funeral home’s van while he was in the hospital after the January drunk driving incident, according to Maat.
Clock was the owner-operator of the now-closed Clock Funeral Home of White Lake that’s located in Whitehall. It’s not affiliated with other funeral homes with the Clock name.
Prosecutors say Clock was performing funeral and mortuary services without a license since Oct. 31 and the fraudulent burial took place Dec. 28.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
