Press Release
Contact:
CHRIS O’CONNOR
ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY
PHONE: (616) 456-2406
FORMER NEWAYGO COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTY
SENTENCED ON FEDERAL FIREARMS CHARGE
AUGUST 19, 2009 - GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN– John Sutton, age 64, of Newaygo was fined $10,000 and sentenced to one day in federal custody and one year of supervised release following his conviction for possessing a stolen firearm, U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis announced today. Sutton was sentenced by the Honorable Janet T. Neff, United States District Judge in Grand Rapids.
A joint investigation by the Michigan State Police and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (“ATF”) revealed that Sutton, while employed as a deputy sheriff with the Newaygo County Sheriff’s Office in 1986, had taken a complaint of a lost firearm. The weapon was a Davis Industries, Model D-22, .22 caliber pistol. Sutton filed the report of a lost firearm, but rather than securing the pistol at the Sheriff’s Office until it could be returned to its rightful owner, Sutton kept the firearm for his personal collection. Shortly after the firearm was turned over to Sutton, it was reported as stolen by the Muskegon County Sheriff’s Department after the rightful owner could not locate it. Twenty-one years later, in August 2007, Michigan State Police investigators found the weapon at Sutton’s residence in Newaygo during an investigation into Sutton’s extensive firearms collection. Sutton had been a deputy with the Newaygo County Sheriff’s Office for more than 29 years until his retirement in May 2007.
U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis said, “The United States Attorney’s office takes very seriously its responsibility to uncover and prosecute serious federal crimes, no matter who has violated the law. The theft of a citizen’s firearm by a sworn law enforcement officer is a significant act of official misconduct. This case represents our continuing effort to hold all individuals accountable for their unlawful actions, even if it takes two decades or more to uncover their crimes.” Davis continued, “Justice was served in this case.” U.S. Attorney Davis praised the coordinated efforts of the Michigan State Police and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Chris O’Connor.
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August 19, 2009