HILLSDALE,MI (WTVB) – Hillsdale County Sheriff Scott Hodshire pleaded not guilty Wednesday during a virtual arraignment to two felony charges authorized by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.
The 59-year-old sheriff, who has served in the role since 2020, faces one count of obstruction of justice and one count of misconduct in office.
According to a Michigan State Police investigation, Hodshire allegedly leaked confidential details and information about an impending search warrant to a suspect’s family during a cross-state theft investigation conducted as a courtesy for the Williams County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio.
Appearing before Jackson County District Judge Daniel Goostrey, Hodshire’s defense attorney entered the not guilty pleas and waived his right to a speedy probable cause hearing to gather defense materials, allowing the court to continue his $1,000 personal recognizance bond.
Following the arraignment, Hodshire released a public statement on social media aggressively maintaining that the criminal charges against him completely lack merit.
Hodshire said in the staement “I have spent a career upholding, defending and protecting the rule of law, certainly not breaking it,” explaining that the situation stemmed from an investigation his deputies joined purely as a courtesy to an out-of-state agency that lacked local jurisdiction.
While acknowledging that his legal counsel has instructed him to refrain from sharing a “play-by-play” of the incident, Hodshire emphasized that he intends to let the court weigh his actions rather than the “court of public opinion”.
He said that he will continue serving as sheriff in his full capacity and will work to ensure that daily operations at the Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Office are not hampered by the ongoing legal process.
Comments