Page 2 — Thursday, May 19, 2022 — The Hastings Banner
to use it to gain access to the building.
That is when Riddle gave up, Nakfoor
Pratt said.
Selleck stressed that Riddle had let people
leave the building without harming them.
And, when he discovered two employees
were hiding in a locked room, he allowed
them to leave, too.
Riddle pointed the shotgun at Barry
County Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Ware because he
wanted the officer to shoot him, she said.
The count involving Ware was one of
three not-guilty verdicts – and the most
significant – since the prosecution was
alleging assault with intent to murder,
which would have been punishable by up
to life in prison.
“I can’t find beyond a reasonable doubt
that he intended to kill Sgt. Ware,” the judge
said in handing down the verdicts. “I can’t
find that. I can’t find that beyond a reason-
able doubt.“I think he wanted to die. I think he was
afraid to kill himself.”
A verdict of not guilty also was found on
the related felony firearm charge, which was
attached to the assault with intent to murder
count.
But the judge did find Riddle guilty of the
lesser included offense of assault and bat-
tery, a misdemeanor, for pointing the shot-
gun at Ware.
Schipper also found Riddle not guilty on
one of the armed robbery charges stemming
from his encounter with two employees at
the gas station as well as not guilty on the
attached felony firearm count.
After the trial concluded, Nakfoor Pratt
said she was disappointed that they didn’t
get guilty verdicts on all the charges, but
just one of these convictions requires a man-
datory minimum sentence of 25 years, and
at least one other sentence on the conviction
for home invasion can be consecutive to it.
In addition, there’s still the jail escape
charge pending against Riddle “and I’m not
dismissing it,” she said.
The key to this case was Riddle’s intent,
Nakfoor Pratt and Selleck agreed in their
opening statements.
The prosecutor maintained that, during
the melee, when Riddle pointed a loaded
shotgun at officers, it clearly showed his
intent to kill them.
Hastings Police Officer Leonel Rangel
testified that he was frightened during the
chase when he saw what appeared to be the
barrel of a shotgun sticking out of the driv-
er’s side window of Riddle’s vehicle.
It was pointing at him, so he backed off,
Rangel said.
When Riddle pointed his shotgun at him
at the gas station in Woodland, Ware testi-
fied, he believed that Riddle intended to kill
him.
But Selleck argued that the evidence was
clear that Riddle “never intended to hurt any
other human being. He has been consistent.
That has never wavered. That has never
changed.”
She maintained that, during the hours in
which Riddle fled from police, then barri-
caded himself in a service station in Wood-
land, “he never fired a weapon at any other
human being.”
Nakfoor Pratt charged Riddle with 24
criminal counts in three separate cases start-
ing when area police were advised to be on
the lookout for Riddle, who was suspected
of stealing two shotguns from a house in the
1000 block of North Coville Road.
The crimes committed in that initial
encounter with police in Hastings were the
focus of one case in which, before his trial
began, Riddle pleaded guilty to first-degree
home invasion, two counts of larceny of a
firearm, being a felon in possession of a
firearm, four counts of committing a felony
with a firearm and being a fourth-degree
habitual offender.
Officer Rangel said he recognized Riddle
on that August day, when he stopped him
and asked him to wait to talk to sheriff’s
deputies. Just as two deputies pulled up,
Riddle sped away.
That encounter with Rangel was the focus
of the second case. He was convicted of all
four counts in this case: He was found guiltyduring the trial of felonious assault and
resisting/obstructing Officer Rangel. Before
the trial, he pleaded guilty to fourth-degree
fleeing and eluding, and being a fourth-de-
gree habitual offender.
The third case, with 20 counts leveled
against him, dealt with his arrival at the gas
station and his encounters there with Sgt.
Scott Ware and two female employees. The
first count alleged assault with intent to
murder Sgt. Ware, an accompanying charge
of committing a felony with a firearm;
counts 3 and 5 involved two armed robbery
charges, each having an accompanying felo-
ny firearm count.
Before the trial began, Riddle pleaded
guilty to counts 7 through 14: Discharging a
firearm in a building, being a felon in pos-
session of a firearm and a felon in posses-
sion of ammunition, malicious destruction
of a building resulting in damages of
between $1,000 to $20,000, and tampering
with an electronic monitoring device, along
with four charges of committing a felony
with a firearm that accompanied each of
these counts. He was found guilty of two
counts of felonious assault and committing
a felony with a firearm on each of those two
counts.
Riddle will be sentenced as a four-time
habitual offender in this case, which calls
for a mandatory minimum sentence of 25
years in prison, according to Nakfoor Pratt.The other convictions, which may be
served consecutively to the mandatory min-
imum sentence, carry the following sentenc-
ing guidelines:- The felony firearm convictions – 11 of
them – require two-year terms that are to be
served consecutively and preceding any
term of imprisonment imposed for the
accompanying felonies. - The armed robbery conviction is punish-
able by up to life in prison or any number of
years. - Discharging a firearm in a building is
punishable by up to 10 years and/or $10,000. - Convictions of being a felon in posses-
sion of a firearm and ammunition are each
punishable by five years and/or $5,000. - The malicious destruction of a building
is punishable by five years and/or $10,
or three times the amount of destruction or
injury – whichever is greater. - Felonious assault is punishable by four
years and/or $2,000. - Tampering with an electronic device – a
tether he was wearing because he was on
probation at the time of the incident – is pun-
ishable by two years in prison and/or $4,000. - In the home invasion case, that convic-
tion is punishable by 20 years in prison and/
or $5,000.
- Each larceny of firearms – the theft of
the two shotguns – is punishable by five
years in prison and/or $2,500.
PUBLISHER’S NOTICE:
All real estate advertising in this
newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing
Act and the Michigan Civil Rights Act
which collectively make it illegal to
advertise “any preference, limitation or
discrimination based on race, color,
religion, sex, handicap, familial status,
national origin, age or martial status, or
an intention, to make any such
preference, limitation or discrimination.”
Familial status includes children under
the age of 18 living with parents or legal
custodians, pregnant women and people
securing custody of children under 18.
This newspaper will not knowingly
accept any advertising for real estate
which is in violation of the law. Our
readers are hereby informed that all
dwellings advertised in this newspaper
are available on an equal opportunity
basis. To report discrimination call the
Fair Housing Center at 616-451-2980.
The HUD toll-free telephone number for
the hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275.Bring them to the “Middleville Farmer’s Market”
at the pavilion, 1 to 7 PM
Friday, June 10, 2022
Items will be sharpened while you shop!
(We work for donations)
This is a ONE TIME event! Don’t miss it!Rotary of Middleville
+ Kitchen Knives
+ Hunting Knives
+ Scissors
+ Lopping Shears
+ Pruning Shears+ Chain Saw Blades
+ Axes / Hatchets
+ Shovels / Hoes
+ Lawn Mower Blades(Sorry, No Circle Saws or Saw Blades)Do You Have a Dull Utensil?
The Rotary Club will make it SHARP for you!QUESTIONS:ASK US...Hulst Cleaners Pick-Up StationSisters Fabrics
218 E. State St., Hastings • 945-
OPEN: Monday-Friday 8 am-5:30 pm;
Saturday 9 am-3 pm
Pray For Our World >
QUESTIONS:ASK US...
Sisters Fabrics
218 E. State St., Hastings • 945-
OPEN: Monday-Thursday 8 am-5:30 pm;
Friday 8 am-7 pm; Saturday 9 am-5:30 pmCongratulations to
the Grads of 2022
**- 108" Wide Cotton
- Good Selection of Cotton
Prints**
WILD CHASE, continued from page 1 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Prosecuting Attorney Julie Nakfoor Pratt demonstrates how Timothy Riddle aimed the shotgun. (Photo by Scott Harmsen)Barry County Judge Michael Schipper listens to testimony. (Photo by Scott Harmsen)Chief Public Defender Kerri Selleck cross-examines a witness during the trial.
(Photo by Scott Harmsen)“We as a township, we’re going
to have to supply emergency ser-
vices to them,” Jim Brown said.
“We’re going to pave the roads
going out there. We’re going to do
everything like that. Who’s going
to help pay for it?”
Brown has argued that Harvest
Pointe will compete with sur-
rounding assisted living facilities,
such as Woodlawn Meadows and
Carveth Village.
Woodlawn Meadows pays
$59,999.72 in taxes and Carveth
Village pays $101,101.88, Brown
said at the township’s April meeting.
“If you want to compare apples
to apples, here is Thornapple Manoropening up a facility that’s going to
be in direct competition with those
two, plus there’s almost 20 other
smaller facilities in the county,” he
said then.
But Haney said competition is
nothing new. “For-profit business-
es that have been competing with
government entities for forever.”
Haney has maintained that Thor-
napple Manor is a government
building and, therefore, tax-ex-
empt. He expressed confidence
that the state tax tribunal will side
with the skilled nursing facility.
The argument over Harvest
Pointe has stretched out longer than
Haney initially had anticipated.“The fact that I have to go to the
tax tribunal does surprise me and,
quite frankly, I find it very frus-
trating,” he said. “ I think it’s a
waste of our dollars and the town-
ship dollars.”
He called the township’s argu-
ment a “slippery slope.”
“So, OK, does that mean that
the county building downtown
would need to pay property
taxes?” Haney asked. “Does
Hastings Township hall have to
pay property taxes to itself? I
mean, if you really want to start
that slope of saying, ‘Well, gov-
ernment buildings are no longer
exempt,’ where does it end?”MICHAEL KINNEY
PLUMBING
Licensed Master Plumber
Licensed Journeyman Plumber
New construction, remodel, repair, drain cleaning.
BRADFORD WHITE WATER HEATERS
Same Day Installation
Office (269) 948-
Mobile (269) 838-License
#
& InsuredTOWNSHIP, continued from page 1 –––––––––––––––––––––––
Call for Hastings Banner ads
269-945-9554 or 1-800-870-
City plans public hearing Monday
to decrease millage rate
Hunter McLaren
Staff Writer
The City of Hastings will host a public
hearing May 23 during the 7 p.m. city
council meeting in city hall to request a
lower millage rate for the city budget.
Jane Saurman, city treasurer, said the
public hearing is a formality required by
law.
Municipalities in Michigan are required
to lower millage rates each year when the
value of property grows faster than the
rate of inflation by the Truth in Taxation
Act and the Headlee Amendment to the
Michigan state constitution.
The city approved its new budget for
the 2022-23 fiscal year May 9 based on
the millage rate from last year with the
knowledge that this year’s millage rate
would be slightly lower, Saurman said.
The city did this because it had not
received the 2022 millage reduction frac-
tion, which dictates how much the millage
will decrease for a fiscal year, at the time
the budget was passed by city council.
Because of this, the city is holding the
public hearing Monday to comply with
state law.
The millage reduction fraction provided
by the Barry County Equalization Office
for the 2022-23 fiscal year is 0.988, which
is multiplied by the 2021 millage rate tofind the 2022 millage rate. The 2021 oper-
ating millage rate for 2021 was set at
15.9661, and will be decreased to 15.7745.
The cemetery millage rate for 2021 was
set at 0.9968 and will be reduced to
0.9848.
Saurman said the city’s budgeted reve-
nue will be affected by less than 1 percent
because of the change. A decrease of
around $40,000 in total revenue will be
reflected in the local development finance
authority, downtown development author-
ity and the city’s general fund, Suarman
said, with the general fund revenue
decreasing by about $25,000.
City Manager Sarah Moyer-Cale said
the city is usually not required to hold a
public hearing on the millage reduction
because it normally is the same time as the
public hearing for approving the city bud-
get if they already have the millage reduc-
tion fraction from the county.
Although the required public notice in
the May 12 Banner , indicated a “public
hearing on increasing property taxes,”
Moyer-Cale said the millage rate is
decreasing.
“Even though the notice has to say
property taxes are increasing, because
that’s the language required by law, the
millage rate itself is actually decreasing,”
Moyer-Cale said.