COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A Coldwater man who briefly escaped from a Coldwater Police car while being taken to the Branch County Jail last October was ordered to serve time in the Michigan Department of Corrections on Monday in Branch County Circuit Court.
29-year-old Zachary Sonnichsen was given a sentence of between 16 months to three years after he entered a guilty plea to resisting and obstructing a police officer and to being an habitual offender second offense.
Other charges of escape, retail fraud, and being in possession of drug paraphernalia were dismissed by prosecutors as part of a plea agreement in exchange for his guilty plea.
Sonnichsen was wanted for absconding from his parole on July 1, 2020. He was originally arrested by Coldwater Police last October 10 for shoplifting at the Walmart store.
As he was in a Coldwater Police vehicle, Sonnichsen managed to free himself from his handcuffs, unlock the door and get out. He was chased down a few moments later.
His criminal record goes back to 2008 when he was convicted of third degree criminal sexual conduct. He was then convicted of failure to register as a sex offender in 2013 and 2016. There was also a 2016 conviction for tampering with an electronic monitoring device.
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