Two Take Plea Deals Over Stealing a 'Stuffed Gator' From a Hartland Man's Pole Barn

HOWELL — Two of three men facing charges they in Deerfield Township and took it "mudbogging" have taken plea agreements in the case.

John E. Sanborn, 53, of Harrison, plead guilty while Douglas E. Ward, 55, of Linden, plead no contest to the charge of breaking and entering Friday before Livingston Circuit Judge David Reader. The case of a third man involved — Roy A. Griffith, 60, of Linden — was adjourned and will be rescheduled.

As part of the plea agreement, there will be jail caps imposed at the time of their sentencing, which will take place Nov. 10. Bond was continued on both men. Sanborn was also charged with being an habitual offender, fourth offense, which will result in additional jail time when sentenced.

Griffith's final settlement conference was adjourned Friday and will be rescheduled.

The incident leading to the arrests of the trio occurred on June 25 when Jeremy Swanson noticed that his gate and padlock had been broken and the pole barn ransacked.

"They were very identifiable, and they must've been drunk because the truck kept swerving," Swanson told Patch for a July 31 article.

Swanson followed the still-wet, muddy tire tracks to a rural area in Deerfield Township, where they ended about 100 yards from a mud bogging party in progress. Mud bogging is a sport where the goal is to drive a vehicle through a deep, muddy depression without getting stuck.

Swanson told Patch he found the 14-foot-long stolen, stuffed gator in the bed of a pickup truck whose tires matched the imprint he had been following. Swanson asked the three men in the truck where they got the gator and they replied they obtained it in Florida. He then took photos, left the mudbogging party and immediately notified police with the information.

After their arrest, the three were taken to Saint Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital in Howell for blood-alcohol tests. All were over the legal limit of 0.08 blood alcohol level for driving a motor vehicle in Michigan. Ward was at 0.4, Sanborn 0.32 and Griffith at 0.29, according to police.

Livingston Sheriff Bob Bezotte has said that Swanson's evidence was the linchpin to solving the case. Patch was unsuccessful in reaching Swanson for comment on Sanborn's and Ward's plea bargains and Bezotte was unavailable for comment.