MURDER TRIAL ADJOURNED FOR ONE MONTH; SPRING TRIAL SET FOR BUCHANAN LANDFILL EMBEZZLEMENT CASE

There was action last week in two major southern Berrien County cases. The murder trial of James Parker Huffman has been adjourned for a month, while former Southeast Berrien County Landfill employees Sonny Fuller and Terry Snow have been bound over for trial on embezzlement charges.
Huffman, 52, of South 14th Street in Niles, had been set to go to trial this week. He is charged with one count of first-degree murder in connection with the July 21 strangulation death of his girlfriend, Angela Cluver, in what he told police was a failed “murder-suicide” pact.
Huffman walked into the Niles Law Enforcement Complex July 24 and told police that he had strangled his girlfriend three days before. Police then went to the South 15th Street home and discovered Cluver’s body which was in a state of decomposition.
Huffman was in Berrien County Trial Court last week for a status conference where his trial has been delayed for a month at the request of both attorneys. The new court dates are Feb. 14 for another status conference and Feb. 20-23 for the trial.
Defense attorney Scott Sanford said DNA results from the crime scene were just received last week. “We’re still involved with discovery with the volume of evidence we’re getting,” he told Judge Charles LaSata. “We’re also still continuing plea negotiations.”
Assistant Prosecutor Cortney O’Malley said there is still a question about whether Huffman can be held criminally responsible although he is competent to stand trial. She said one report has come back but she wouldn’t say what the report indicates. The defense could ask for another review and the question is ultimately one for a jury to decide, she said.
LaSata expressed concerns about delaying the trial but both Sanford and O’Malley noted that there has not been an adjournment previously. As for plea negotiations, O’Malley said there has been no plea deal offered by the prosecution at this point.

In the embezzlement case, Fuller, 46, of Buchanan, and Snow, 54, of Eau Claire, were fired by the landfill authority board last July. They were arraigned in mid-December on two 20-year felonies of embezzlement over $100,000 and conducting criminal enterprises charges. The embezzlement allegedly occurred between December 2016 and June 2017.
LaSata bound both men over for trial after hearing the testimony at last week’s preliminary hearing. He set an April 4-6 trial for both defendants, with a case conference set for Feb. 21 and a status conference for March 28.
Bond was set for both men at $25,000 cash or surety. Fuller’s bond had been $20,000 personal recognizance while Snow’s bond had been $10,000 ten percent.

Those testifying at last week’s hearing were Niles Township Trustee and landfill board member Herschel Hoese, Berrien County Sheriff’s Detective/Lieutenant Greg Sanders and Neil Shanahan of Klink Trucking of South Bend.
Hoese said he began investigating questionable checks last March after not getting satisfactory answers from Fuller. He found that the previously unknown company, GT&S Enterprises, was owned by Goldie Marie Snow, Terry Snow’s mother. He shared his concerns with other Niles Township officials and they contacted the sheriff’s department.
Sanders testified about what he discovered in the bank records of GT&S Enterprises as well as of Fuller and Snow. He said a $10,046 check from the landfill was deposited in the GT&S account Dec. 13, 2016 with two checks for $4,300 each then transferred to Fuller and Snow that day.
In all, Sanders said GT&S was billing the landfill for five times the amount Klink Trucking charged the landfill for doing the actual work. Snow and Fuller claimed GT&S was a start-up company that hired Klink to do the work. Shanahan, the Klink general manager, said he had never heard of GT&S and was unaware of any payments from GT&S to his company.
Sanders described Snow as “confrontational” and wanting to know who had made a complaint to the sheriff’s department. He told detectives he would provide evidence proving his innocence and showing he had bought items from Fuller but never did. He said he had not disclosed his interest in the company out of fear people would see it as a conflict.
Fuller claimed he was initially unaware of Snow’s involvement in GT&S Enterprises and hired the company because they provided a good price for hauling sand and other materials to the landfill, Sanders said. Fuller denied getting any funds from the company.
The Southeast Berrien County Landfill is owned by the cities of Buchanan and Niles and Bertrand, Buchanan and Niles townships. It is located in Bertrand Township.