BERRIEN COUNTY COURT NEWS UPDATE

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
Court news in 2023 included numerous sentencings and action in some high profile cases as well as a late

year admonishment from the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission to an area judge.
The Judicial Tenure Commission issued a letter Dec. 12 admonishing Berrien County Trial Judge Charles LaSata for his actions over the last several years relative to his treatment of attorneys and defendants, disregard for governing law and his connections to his wife’s political campaigns.
The five page letter went through details of the complaints against Judge LaSata, his defense and their conclusion that his behavior had changed for the positive in the last three years.
“We found a ‘a tale of two judges’,” the commission wrote. “That is, we found serious and ongoing problems with several aspects of your actions and attitude as a judge for a decade that ended when we brought our concerns to your attention in September, 2020, after which you became a very different judge.”
The commission stated that demeanor issues constituted the most frequent complaints they received. They noted that the judge would allegedly disparage defendants in personal terms and treat criminal defense attorneys poorly by being inattentive, stating that their motions were frivolous and even threatening them with sanctions.
The commission noted that while they took into consideration Judge LaSata attributing his treatment of defendants and attorneys to the trauma he suffered from the 2016 shooting outside his courtroom that resulted in the deaths of two bailiffs, there had been concerns about his behavior prior to that incident.
On the campaign issue involving his wife’s (Kim LaSata) runs for the state senate, the commission noted that the judicial canons prohibit judges from publicly endorsing a candidate for non-judicial office and cautioned him to use care in the future since the canons don’t make exceptions for campaigns of a judge’s spouse.
The commission concluded they did not reprimand the judge because he had changed his behavior. “The reasons we are only admonishing you despite the findings outlined above is because our obligation is not to punish but to protect the public, and it appears that you have taken this process, and our concerns, to heart,” they wrote.
Judge LaSata has been a judge since 2005 and previously served as the mayor of St. Joseph and as a state legislator.

In Berrien County Trial Court action in 2023, a former “juvenile lifer” was resentenced to life in prison without parole for the 1989 murder of a St. Joseph area grocery store manager. Efran Paredes, Jr., was just 15 when he committed the murder of Rick Tetzlaff.
Paredes was one of a number of area “juvenile lifers” eligible for resentencing after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a life without parole sentence for juvenile offenders is unconstitutional in most instances. That sentence can be re-imposed in certain cases such as if the defendant has been found not to have been rehabilitated or capable of being rehabilitated.
In other high-profile cases, an area attorney was arrested and charged with a number of criminal sexual conduct related offenses for actions dating back more than a decade.

Attorney Lanny Fisher, of Buchanan, was arraigned in April, 2023 and faces 14 criminal sexual conduct and prostitution related charges. The alleged incidents occurred at his home and office in Buchanan over 12 years, dating back to 2010.
He was arraigned on nine counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct and four counts of misdemeanor prostitution offenses. He faces up to 15 years in prison on the second-degree CSC charges, up to two years in prison on the fourth-degree CSC charges and up to 93 days in jail on the prostitution charges.
A preliminary hearing in the case with testimony from a number of witnesses was held over two days in September and October before Van Buren County District Judge Michael McKay. Judge McKay is presiding over the case after all Berrien County judges recused themselves.
Judge McKay is expected to issue a ruling on whether Fisher should be bound over for trial on the charges at a hearing Jan. 25. The ruling has been delayed in order to give both the defense and prosecution time to get a transcript of the hearing and submit briefs.

Action in another high-profile case is on hold awaiting a ruling from the Michigan Supreme Court.

Taylor Ryan Johnson of Buchanan had been set to go on trial in Berrien County Trial Court Aug. 29 on a charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death before the delay.
He is charged in connection with the death of Berrien County Road Department worker William “Mack” Isom in July, 2022 while Isom was clearing brush on Red Bud Trail in Oronoko Township.
Johnson told police that he had been driving and had not seen Isom in the roadway. A witness told police that they saw Johnson’s vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed and hitting Isom. His blood alcohol level was found to be more than twice the legal limit. If found guilty, he faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10.000.
Johnson’s attorneys filed an appeal of Berrien County Trial Judge Jennifer Smith’s decision not to allow certain testimony to be presented at trial. The appeal was dismissed by the Michigan Court of Appeals but is now pending before the Michigan Supreme Court.
The murder trial of a St. Louis, Missouri man charged with the late September death of a Niles man is set to start in mid March.

Jamie Phillip Perry, 29, of St. Louis, Missouri, faces four felony charges in connection with the Sept. 30 shooting death of Luke James Botica, 28, of Niles. He is charged with open murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Judge Smith bound Perry over for trial in early December on the four felony charges after stating that she found probable cause that Perry had committed the crimes. She went over the evidence presented including witness testimony and the autopsy report. She also noted that Perry had a previous felony conviction for burglary in Missouri.
The next court dates in the case are Jan. 24 for a case conference, Feb. 26 for a status conference and March 13-15 for the jury trial. Perry remains in jail on $2 million cash or surety bond.