By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
COVID-19 has slowed down court activity throughout the state with courthouses still closed and hearings adjourned. Area courts are just now getting back to a small level of normality with the start of felony jury trials expected later this month.
A number of prominent cases have been among those delayed in both Berrien and Cass Counties. In March, the Michigan Supreme Court ordered local courts to delay proceedings when possible due to the pandemic and most courts are currently in the middle of their reopening plans.
In Berrien County, the case against Michael Heskett was delayed in
the spring but is now moving forward. Heskett was an original partner in a Niles area marijuana grow business being constructed at 13th and Lake Streets in Niles.
Heskett, 50, of Clarendon Avenue in Niles, now faces three felony child pornography and drug related charges after a preliminary hearing held in August. The next court dates in the case are mid-December for a case conference and February for a jury trial.
Heskett is charged with delivery of a controlled substance to a minor-a 40 year felony, aggravated child sexual abusive activity-a 25 year felony and prostitution/engaging the services of a minor-a five year felony. Heskett has pleaded not guilty to all three counts.
Testimony in the preliminary hearing held over two days in August came from the alleged victim and a Michigan State Police trooper.
The alleged victim, who was 16 at the time of the incident, testified that she had known Heskett for three or four years before the alleged incidents in November and December, 2019. She alleged that Heskett gave her cocaine and crack cocaine and she watched it being cooked. She said she felt energetic and intense after using the drugs as well as a little off.
She stated that Heskett asked for sexual favors in exchange for the cocaine and also told her it was her job to take care of him. She said that did provide sexual favors for him and also took photos of herself and Heskett where she was unclothed.
The police report made in connection with the case also stated that police found photos of her snorting cocaine and smoking marijuana. Those photos were time stamped as taken in November and December of last year.
Michigan State Police Trooper Kevin Lee testified as an expert witness in recognizing the effects of cocaine and other drugs. He said he reviewed videos of the alleged victim while under the influence as well as her testimony and found her testimony consistent with the use of cocaine.
Lee said he made his determination based on the alleged victim’s statements to police and testimony which were consistent with someone who has used cocaine and similar drugs.
A jury trial is set for mid-October in another Niles area case. Day faces five felony charges as a habitual offender in connection with an August, 2019 incident in the city.
Smith, 22, now of Benton Harbor, faces charges of armed robbery, assault with intent to murder, carrying a concealed weapon in an automobile and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
The charges stem from an Aug. 24, 2019 incident in 600 block of Wayne Street in the city of Niles. Police received a 9-1-1 call reporting that a gunshot victim was lying in the street. Officers said they believed at least two shots were fired inside a vehicle, and three suspects got out and ran away.
Smith had been scheduled to be in court Monday, Sept. 14, for a pretrial status conference but that was adjourned when his attorney could not be present. It has been rescheduled for late September. If no plea deal is reached, his trial could start in mid-October.
In Cass County cases, one of the two men accused in the January murder of a Dowagiac man will be in court Friday for a pretrial hearing.
Jay Vincent Penar, 39, of White Pigeon, faces 11 felony charges including open murder and armed robbery in connection with the Jan. 27 death of Michael Collins. He is scheduled to be in Cass Circuit Court Friday morning for a pretrial conference. No jury trial date has been set in his case.
Justin Carlton, 41, of Kalamazoo, faces not only 13 charges in
connection with the Jan. 27 murder but also four charges from a March incident at the Cass County Jail. He is scheduled to be in court Oct. 19 for a settlement conference ahead of an Oct. 27 trial.
The charges Carlton faces related to the Jan. 27 murder include open murder, armed robbery and two meth related charges. He is also charged with possession of a weapon in the jail and three counts of resisting and obstructing police from a March 8 incident at the jail.
Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz reported earlier this year that it is alleged that Carlton was the person who shot Collins although both are charged with open murder. The two men robbed and tied up Collins and three others at a Louise Avenue home in Dowagiac before killing Collins.
In another Cass County case, former Southwestern Michigan College instructor George Field’s trial on criminal sexual conduct, insurance fraud and perjury charges has again been delayed. He now faces an early January trial in Cass County Circuit Court.
The incidents date back as far as 2015. The incidents occurred in Dowagiac and involved a SMC student who went to him for private counseling. The alleged victim informed SMC officials and police of the incident in 2017 and the college terminated Field a short time later after an investigation. He was criminally charged shortly after that.
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