COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A Coldwater area man who was charged in connection with the June 3, 2018 death of another man in his Ovid Township home has pled guilty to Third Degree Home Invasion and is scheduled for sentencing on August 8, 2022.
43-year-old Chad Danbury was originally charged with second degree murder and assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder.
36-year-old Grant Gregory Morrison died at his home in the 400 block of Morning Glory Lane, where Michigan State Police investigators say a fight took place between Morrison and Danbury.
Former Prosecutor Ralph Kimble declined to press charges because he felt there was no criminal intent on Danbury’s part. After charges were denied, the investigating agency was authorized to destroy all physical evidence. The charges were later filed by new personnel in the prosecutor’s office after a further investigation by Michigan State Police. Danbury surrendered at the Branch County Jail October 27, 2019 after Branch County Prosecutor’s filed the charges.
Current Prosecutor Zach Stempien said in a statement on Thursday that a triable question of fact existed regarding whether the Defendant acted in lawful self-defense or defense of others during the incident. During 2020, the parties worked on preparing the case but the COVID-19 pandemic suspended all jury trials. The case has now been pending resolution for over two years.
Stempien said, “Based upon the unique factors of this case, including the age of the case, likelihood of conviction, Victim’s family position towards a plea agreement, potential self-defense claim, previous denial by the former Prosecuting Attorney, destruction of physical evidence, the delay caused by COVID-19, availability of potential witnesses, and the likely Michigan Sentencing Guideline Range if convicted, this office knew at the time of charging that the outcome of this case would be different than most homicide cases. The ultimate goal of this Prosecuting Attorney was to obtain the best guaranteed resolution in this case to obtain some sense of justice for the victim, with the unfortunate reality that the resolution of this case would not undue the unfortunate events of June 2, 2018. Considering the above, this Office found a plea to Home-Invasion-3rd Degree with a guaranteed potential term of incarceration to be the best guaranteed outcome of this case.”
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