LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A circuit court judge has reinstated charges against one of two men contracted to service breath alcohol testing instruments used by law enforcement in the Lower Peninsula, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday.
The instrument, DataMaster DMT (DataMaster Transportable), is more commonly known as a breathalyzer and measures the alcohol level of drivers suspected of drunk driving.
Last year, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed charges against Andrew Clark of Oxford and David John of Kalamazoo for creating fictitious documents related to certain diagnostic tests and repairs on DataMaster DMTs.
- three counts, forgery of a public record;
- three counts, uttering and publishing; and
- three counts, use of a computer to commit a crime.
John was sentenced to 36 months’ probation with the first nine months to be served in the Kalamazoo County Jail with credit for one day served. He remains in jail at this time.
In December, Eaton County District Court Judge Julie O’Neill found no probable cause to send Clark to trial—a ruling that was appealed by AG Nessel and overturned by visiting 56th Circuit Court Judge David Jordan Monday afternoon.
The reversal means the case is remanded back to district court with instructions to bind over the defendant on his original charges.
The charges against Clark are:
- two counts, forgery of a public record, a 14-year felony charge;
- two counts, uttering and publishing, a 14-year felony charge; and
- two counts, use of a computer to commit a crime, a 10-year felony charge.
“I applaud Judge Jordan’s reversal and appreciate the work done by my Public Integrity Unit and Michigan State Police on this case,” Nessel said in a statement. “Those who hold positions of trust at any level of our justice system must be held to a high standard.”
A new court date for Clark has not been set.
The criminal cases against Clark and John followed a four-month investigation led by the Attorney General’s Public Integrity Unit and the Michigan State Police.
