COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A Coldwater area man was given a one year Branch County Jail sentence on Monday in Branch County Circuit Court after he entered a guilty plea in June to Third Degree Home Invasion .
43-year-old Chad Danbury was also placed on two years probation and was given credit for one day served.
He was originally charged with second degree murder and assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder in connection with the June 3, 2018 death of 36-year-old Grant Gregory Morrison in the 400 block of Morning Glory Lane where Michigan State Police investigators say a fight took place between Morrison and Danbury.
The original charges were dismissed in exchange for the plea to the amended count.
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 further investigation by the Michigan State Police.
Current Prosecutor Zach Stempien said in a statement on June 23 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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