In January 2013, Laird was arrested for transporting $900,000 worth of cocaine from Texas to Michigan.
[Comment Jackson County Judge Mazur made to Lance Laird's attorney during Laird's hearing for the domestic violence charge and violation of bond].
Former Jackson County Sheriff Candidate Busted for Cocaine
By FOX 47 News
CREATED Jan. 30, 2013
http://www.fox47news.com/news/topstories/189007301.html
One of the same people who ran for Jackson County Sheriff last year has been busted for cocaine.
Lance Laird lost the August primary while sitting in jail. He got out, and cops say he was driving one of three vehicles stopped last week in Calhoun County.
More than four kilos were found inside a spare tire. Cops say the cars were coming back from Texas. Eight others are facing charges for possession with intent to sell.
Lance Laird, former candidate for Jackson County sheriff, among those arrested after large cocaine bust
By Danielle Salisbury
The Jackson Patriot
January 28, 2013 at 6:36 PM
Updated January 30, 2013 at 6:43 PM
http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2013/01/lance_laird_former_candidate_f.html
Lance Laird, who lost in the August Democratic primary, was driving one of three vehicles stopped Wednesday on M-60 near 19 ½ Mile Road in Calhoun County, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court.
The vehicles had gone to Texas and were returning to Michigan. Laird, in a Pontiac Grand Prix, was accompanying the Yukon, where police said they found the cocaine inside a spare tire. The tire was attached beneath the SUV, according to the complaint, filed Friday in the Western District of Michigan in Grand Rapids.
Laird’s co-defendants are: Juan Guerrero Jr., Robert Paul Villarreal, Julio Cruz Pizano, Gonzalo Ramon Delarosa, Ryan Joshua Nice, Genoveva Pizano Villarreal and Abel Bernardo Villarreal.
Friday, the defendants appeared before a federal magistrate judge, and are in federal custody. A pretrial conference hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
They are charged with conspiring to possess cocaine with the intention of distributing it.
Driving the Yukon was Delarosa, 59, of Blackman Township, according to the complaint. Laird admitted to leaving Delarosa’s home on Rives Junction Road in the Grand Prix and heading to Texas.
Laird, 36, said he had made the same trip about two months ago, the complaint states.
A confidential informant led police to investigate the most recent trip.
The informant told a Lansing police officer that Guerrero, who lives in Lansing, has connections for illegal narcotics in Texas, according to the complaint.
The informant told the officer Guerrero would be planning a trek last week, and the informant gave a cell phone to Guerrero, which police then tracked.
Law enforcement personnel monitored the men's movements and state police first stopped the Grand Prix after it returned to Michigan. A white pickup, accompanying the Yukon and the Grand Prix, swerved at a trooper’s patrol vehicle as the trooper went after the Yukon.
The complaint alleges the pickup was a “bait vehicle,” used by drug traffickers to draw the attention of law enforcement away from the vehicle carrying the drugs, according to the complaint.
Police stopped the pickup and then pursued the Yukon, which had picked up its speed from about 35 mph to more than 60 mph in snowy, icy conditions in an apparent attempt to avoid a stop, the complaint states.
The three vehicles were traveling together, Pizano, 45, admitted to a deputy on the Jackson Narcotics Enforcement Team, according to the complaint.
The Jackson team is familiar with Pizano, Laird and Delarosa, said state police Detective Lt. Dave Cook, the team commander.
They are “known targets,” he said Monday.
During the primary in August, Laird was in jail for testing positive for cocaine while on probation for a domestic violence charge. He denied using the drug.
The jail stay was his 14th in Jackson County since 2006, jail records showed.
Lance lost the primary to Jackson reserve officer Kenneth Carpenter, but still earned more than 1,400 votes.
Sheriff Steve Rand, a Republican, beat Carpenter handily in the November general election.
The cocaine found last week has a value of about $900,000, state police reported.
"It's probably the biggest (bust) we have been involved in in a long time," Cook said of the Jackson team.
Election 2012: Reserve officer Kenneth Carpenter wins; jail inmate Lance Laird earns more than 1,400 votes
Published: Tuesday, August 07, 2012, 11:37 PM
Updated: Thursday, August 09, 2012, 8:38 PM
By Danielle Salisbury
The Jackson Citizen Patriot
http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2012/08/election_2012_reserve_officer.html
JACKSON, MI – Unofficial primary results show Kenneth Carpenter, a reserve officer with the Jackson Police Department, beat a jail inmate, Lance Laird, by 2,071 votes.
Carpenter will be the Democratic candidate for sheriff for the November general election, where he faces Sheriff Steve Rand, a Republican.
Rand, preliminarily, had a large lead over Republican primary challenger Larry Bradley, owner of Larry's Garage and Hanover Township assistant fire chief.
With all precincts reporting, Carpenter was leading his opponent, Lance Laird, with 3,494 votes to Laird's 1,423.
"Like I said from day one, I have come into this race because I want to make a difference with the youth in this county," Carpenter said Tuesday night.
He said he is grateful for the support. " I do want to thank every one who has voted for me and welcomed me onto their front porch or onto their lawn," he said.
Carpenter, too, expressed surprise at Laird's vote count. "I didn't figure that many people would vote for someone running for sheriff in jail."
Laird, is serving a 57-day sentence in the jail the elected sheriff will oversee. Laird, 36, tested positive for cocaine while on probation for a domestic violence charge. The stint in the county lock-up is Laird’s 15th, according to a past report.
Carpenter, a father of five, has worked with the city police department for nine years and has a degree from Jackson Community College in criminal justice. He works at the Ford plant in Saline.
Children are his priority, he repeatedly said. "There is heroin in kids' hands; there is prescription medication. There is crack cocaine in kids' hands because it's cheap. There are guns in kids' hands," he said. "That stuff has to come out of people's hands."
Lance Laird, still on the August ballot but unable to vote for himself
Published: Wednesday, August 01, 2012, 1:44 PM
Updated: Wednesday, August 01, 2012, 11:12 PM
By Aaron Aupperlee, MLive
The Jackson Citizen Patriot
http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2012/08/lance_laird_still_on_the_augus.html
He cannot vote at all.
Under state law, Laird is not allowed to vote in the primary because he will be in jail serving a sentence. Only inmates incarcerated awaiting arraignment or a trial are allowed to vote, said Jackson County Clerk Amanda Riska.
"A person who, in a court of this or another state or in a federal court, has been legally convicted and sentenced for a crime for which the penalty imposed is confinement in jail or prison shall not vote, offer to vote, attempt to vote, or be permitted to vote at an election while confined," according to state law.
District Judge R. Darryl Mazur sent Laird to jail for 57 days Tuesday for violating probation by testing positive for cocaine. Laird was on probation for a domestic violence charge to which he pleaded no contest. He denied both the domestic violence charge and using cocaine.
Laird will remain on the Aug. 7 ballot where he is challenging Kenneth Carpenter, a Jackson Police Department reserve officer, for the Democratic nomination for sheriff. Despite Laird's recent transgressions and his past criminal history, there are no laws or rules barring him from running for sheriff.
The only qualification to run for sheriff, according to state law, is that the candidate be a "qualified and registered elector," according to statement issued by the state Bureau of Elections to the Jackson County clerk's office. Laird's past or present actions do not disqualify him as an elector.
"The candidate remains on the ballot and votes cast for him should be counted," the Bureau of Elections stated.
However, the Bureau of Elections also stated that "in the unlikely event that he wins, an aggrieved person can file a quo warranto action."
If someone feels there has been fraud or an error in an election, state law allows that person to bring legal action against to municipality — in Laird's case, Jackson County.
Terry Jungel, the executive director of the Michigan Sheriff's Association, agreed with the Bureau of Elections that the chances of Laird winning the primary election behind bars are slim. While the possibilities are fun to entertain, elections for sheriff typically result in the most qualified candidate winning, Jungel said.
In a previous article in the Citizen-Patriot, Laird said, "They think I can't win this election, but you are going to see what the will of the people is about. They want change."
Jackson County Sheriff candidate Lance Laird sent to jail for 57 days for violating probation by testing positive for cocaine
Published: Tuesday, July 31, 2012, 10:26 AM
Updated: Tuesday, July 31, 2012, 2:23 PM
By Aaron Aupperlee The Jackson Citizen Patriot http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2012/07/jackson_county_sheriff_candida_1.html
District Judge R. Darryl Mazur sent Laird, 36, to jail for 57 days after testing positive for cocaine while on probation. Laird claimed someone spiked his stuff with something causing the positive test.
"Mr. Laird, I'm not sure whether you're going to make this election for sheriff or not," Mazur said before imposing a sentence in the matter. "Candidly, I doubt it."
Laird, on probation for a domestic violence charge to which he pleaded no contest in March 2011, tested positive for cocaine when tested on June 16, according to information presented in court. The 57-day sentence is the remainder of Laird's 93-day maximum sentence for the domestic violence charge. Laird already spent 36 days in jail for the original charge and other violations.
During his violation hearing Tuesday, Laird accused Tammy Sanders, the woman he allegedly assaulted, of putting something in his stuff to create the positive test. Laird attempted to play a recording of Sanders admitting to "putting stuff in my things," he said. The audio could not be heard by Mazur or anyone else in the courtroom.
Mazur asked Laird what the essence of the recording was, and Laird replied, "She said, yeah, I put stuff in your shit."
Laird never used the words cocaine or drugs in his allegations against Sanders. Sanders was not in court to testify. Laird said she lies and would not be a credible witness. Mazur said it would have been more credible had Sanders come in to testify Tuesday. Laird's attorney was also not present. Laird said she had another hearing.
Kris Putman, Laird's probation officer, said Laird did not show up for tests on June 12 and June 13. Putman called Laird and told him to go test. Laird told Putman he was frustrated with the system. Laird did not provide enough urine on June 15. On June 16, his test was positive for cocaine. Laird requested the sample be sent away for verification. The verification came back positive as well.
Laird claims the initial domestic violence charge was based on lies and made against him because of an on-going custody dispute with Sanders. Photographs taken after the assault show Sanders with a cut lip and a bloody nose. Police reports provided by Laird show that Sanders had reported Laird hit her twice before. She had no marks, and police could not verify that an assault occurred in each. After the third report, when Sanders went to the Jackson Police Department with a bloodied face, Laird was arrested.
He pleaded no contest to avoid spending more time in jail awaiting a trial, he said in previous conversations.
Laird's stint in jail will his 15th, according to jail records. Charges against Laird in previous, unrelated matters, were dismissed, court records show. A jury convicted him of operating while impaired in 2008. He was found guilty of assault and battery in 1994. Laird has been convicted of traffic infractions and having a dog at large, according to court records. There have been eight civil actions filed against him.
He contends the county justice system is corrupt and has fought his probation and previous charges.
Laird has said as sheriff he would throw in jail prosecutors and judges who violate people's rights and use plea deals as instruments of coercion. He believes the county's criminal justice system is overrun with corruption.
"What would you do if you were sheriff?" Mazur asked.
"I don't think that's proper for the court," Laird responded. "I'm not here for my political agenda."
"I'm curious," Mazur said.
"Maybe you should ask me outside of court," Laird responded.
At the close of the hearing, Mazur said, "If you're elected sheriff, go ahead hold us all accountable."
Laird was placed in handcuffs and led out of the courtroom.
Probation violation hearing for Jackson County Sheriff candidate Lance Laird expected Tuesday morning
Published: Tuesday, July 31, 2012, 8:55 AM
Updated: Tuesday, July 31, 2012, 2:27 PM
By Aaron Aupperlee
The Jackson Citizen Patriot
http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2012/07/probation_violation_hearing_fo.html
JACKSON, MI — A probation violation hearing for Jackson County Sheriff candidate Lance Laird is expected Tuesday morning.
Laird, 36, said Monday he would be in court Tuesday for the hearing.
On July 5, Jackson Country District Judge R. Darryl Mazur threw Laird in jail after a drug test came back positive for cocaine. Laird was released from jail and has denied using cocaine.
Evidence Laird expects to present at Tuesday's hearing will show the positive test was an error, he said.
Laird was on probation for a domestic assault charge to which he pleaded no contest in March 2011. He contests the domestic assault, claiming the woman he is accused of assaulting lied to police.
Laird's recent trip to jail was his 14th, according to jail records. Charges against Laird in previous, unrelated matters, were dismissed, court records show. A jury convicted him of operating while impaired in 2008. He was found guilty of assault and battery in 1994. Laird has been convicted of traffic infractions and having a dog at large, according to court records. There have been eight civil actions filed against him.
Laird contends the county's criminal justice system is corrupt, a wrong he will remedy if elected sheriff. He is challenged by Kenneth Carpenter, a reserve officer with the Jackson Police Department, in the Aug. 7 Democratic primary.
Reserve police officer Kenneth Carpenter, Lance Laird face off for Democratic nomination for sheriff
Published: Tuesday, July 24, 2012, 8:00 AM
Updated: Tuesday, July 24, 2012, 12:52 PM
By Aaron Aupperlee
The Jackson Citizen Patriot
http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2012/07/reserve_police_officer_kenneth.html
Kenneth Carpenter is a reserve police officer with the Jackson Police Department. Lance Laird, a self-employed construction worker, has been to jail 14 times, most recently for testing positive for cocaine while on probation.
"My biggest thing is to stop all the corruption that goes on in law enforcement along with the corruption in the court."
Laird, 36, said as sheriff he would throw in jail prosecutors and judges who violate people's rights and use plea deals as instruments of coercion. He would end what he sees as special treatment to police officers caught breaking the law.
He believes seat belt laws and the workplace smoking ban are unconstitutional and would not enforce them. Police should stop harassing medical marijuana dispensaries and instead uphold the law and go after more dangerous drugs such as heroin, he said. Laird is a medical marijuana card holder. He has a steel rod in his leg and back pain.
Laird has denied using cocaine and said the domestic assault charge for which he is on probation was based on lies and corruption. Most previous charges and violations against Laird have been dismissed.
While in jail, however, Laird talked with fellow inmates and heard about injustices and corruption. He said the public has lost faith and trust in law enforcement, and as sheriff, he would restore it.
"I want to help the kids out and keep the kids out of jail to save the county money," Carpenter said.
As he has campaigned, many people have been receptive to his proposed programs for children in Jackson County. He does not think the sheriff's office is heading in the wrong direction but would like it to focus more on the youth. He wants comprehensive cooperation between the sheriff's office and local schools. It starts with teaching preschoolers and kindergartners about positive contacts with police and the dangers of strangers. High school seniors would learn about staying safe while away from home at college, the dangers of drinking and drugs and their constitutional rights when it comes to law enforcement.
Carpenter would like to use the Jackson County Jail as a place for rehabilitation. He wants to provide inmates more access to their families and start a program to involve inmates in community clean-up. He knows the budget will be tight for his programs but expects to use reserve officers and other volunteers to accomplish his goals.
Laird also wants to make educating young, potential offenders an emphasis.
Jackson County Sheriff candidate Lance Laird denies cocaine use, domestic violence charges against him
Published: Thursday, July 19, 2012, 3:29 PM
Updated: Thursday, July 19, 2012, 3:34 PM
By Aaron Aupperlee
The Jackson Citizen Patriot
http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2012/07/jackson_county_sheriff_candida.html
Laird, 36, said one of the reasons he is running for sheriff is to rid county law enforcement of corruption and hold accountable officers, prosecutors and judges.
Jackson County District Judge R. Darryl Mazur threw Laird in jail at the beginning of the month after a drug test came back positive for cocaine. Laird pleaded no contest to a domestic violence charge on March 2, 2011.
Laird denied using cocaine. He said his lawyer will present evidence clearing his name at a hearing scheduled for July 27. He said the woman he is accused of assaulting lied to police. Officers, prosecutors and the judge believed her because the criminal justice does not like him, he said.
"They don't like me because I fight all my seat belt tickets; because I fight all the tickets that I think are corrupt," Laird said.
Laird's recent trip to jail was his 14th, according to jail records. Charges against Laird in previous, unrelated matters, were dismissed, court records show. A jury convicted him of operating while impaired in 2008. He was found guilty of assault and battery in 1994. Laird has been convicted of traffic infractions and having a dog at large, according to court records. There have been eight civil actions filed against him.
"If you look at my police record, 90 percent of the things on there have been dismissed," he said.
The 1994 assault was also based on lies, he said.
Laird will face off against Kenneth Carpenter, a reserve police officer, in the Aug. 7 Democratic primary.
Sheriff candidate Lance Laird jailed 14 times in last 6 years, booked Thursday for testing positive for cocaine
Published: Thursday, July 05, 2012, 5:37 PM
Updated: Friday, July 06, 2012, 10:35 AM
By Aaron Aupperlee
The Jackson Citizen Patriot
http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2012/07/sheriff_candidate_lance_laird.html
District Judge R. Darryl Mazur sent Laird, 36, to jail Thursday for testing positive for cocaine and violating his probation. It is Laird's 14th stay at the Jackson County Jail since 2006, according to jail records.
Laird, on probation for domestic assault, tested positive for cocaine during a June 16 drug screen. The results were confirmed on June 23, according to Mazur and Laird's court file.
A bench warrant for Laird's arrest was issued on June 26, records show.
Mazur sent Laird to jail after a show-cause hearing Wednesday at which his attorney, Ina O'Briant, was not present. Laird will stay in jail pending a $838 bond and his next hearing, scheduled for July 24.
Laird pleaded no contest to domestic assault and was sentenced to 18 months of probation plus fines and costs on March 21, 2011.
Laird was accused of assaulting Tammy Sanders on Aug. 28, 2010. The two have a child together, and Laird has custody, according to court records. Photographs taken after the assault show Sanders with a cut lip and a bloody nose.
At a March 14, 2011 hearing, Sanders told Mazur both she and Laird had drug problems. She said Laird was controlling and kept her from seeing their child. Laird would not admit to hitting her, she said.
Mazur was to sentence Laird at the hearing but delayed it a week to wait for a custody hearing in Circuit Judge Susan Beebe's court. Laird, who was in jail at the time on a bond violation, did not speak. O'Briant told Mazur her client was looking forward to his release from jail and putting the charge behind him.
"I find your client to be one of the most manipulative and controlling individuals that I have ever run across, according the report, according to the information, and according to the violation," Mazur said at the hearing.
O'Briant called Mazur's comments unfair and showed a bias by the judge against her client, court records show. Mazur said as a judge, he was allow to form a bias based on the information before him. O'Briant could not be reached for comment Thursday.
On March 21, 2011, Mazur sentenced Laird to 18 months probation. Laird had trouble complying with probation. He missed drug treatment classes. He did not pay his fines and costs as scheduled. He ended up back in jail.
"Does just enough to keep head above water," one report indicated.
On Oct. 26, 2011, Laird tested positive for cocaine and THC, according to probation reports. He claimed that someone put something in a his food in a plot to get custody of his kids. Mazur threw him in jail.
Later reports indicate Laird is a medical marijuana card holder. One report states — in all capital letters and highlighted — that Laird is running for sheriff.
Charges against Laird in previous, unrelated matters, were dismissed, court records show. A jury convicted him of operating while impaired in 2008. He was found guilty of assault and battery in 1994. Laird has been convicted of traffic infractions and having a dog at large, according to court records. There have been eight civil actions filed against him.
Laird registered to run for sheriff by the May 15 deadline, according to county records. Efforts to reach him at the time were unsuccessful.
He was among 12 candidates interviewed in 2007 for the Leoni Township supervisor position left vacant when Jim Phelps retired. Not selected for the appointment, he then was unemployed and reported he previously worked for Pommark, a heating and air conditioning wholesaler. In 2009, he filed a certified business registration with the county for Lance Laird Roofing, according to earlier reports.
Other candidates for sheriff include Steven Rand, the current sheriff; Kenneth Carpenter, a reserve police officer; and Larry Bradley, an assistant fire chief and owner of a towing company.
Lance Laird, candidate for Jackson County Sheriff, in jail after testing positive for cocaine
Published: Thursday, July 05, 2012, 3:01 PM
Updated: Thursday, July 05, 2012, 6:44 PM
By Aaron Aupperlee
The Jackson Citizen Patriot
http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2012/07/lance_laird_candidate_for_jack.html#incart_river_default
On Wednesday afternoon, District Judge R. Darryl Mazur threw Laird in jail where he will wait for a hearing later this month. Laird, 36, is on probation for domestic assault through Mazur's court.
Laird tested positive for cocaine during a June 16 drug screen administered through the ADAM Drug Testing program, Mazur said. The positive result was verified June 23.
A hearing was scheduled for Wednesday at which Laird was expected to explain why he tested positive, Mazur said. Laird's attorney was out of town for the hearing. Mazur decided to put Laird in jail until a second hearing scheduled for July 24. Laird's bond was set at $838, according to jail records. Mazur said he set bail at the the amount of fines and costs still owed in the domestic assault judgement.
Laird pleaded no contest to domestic assault March 2, 2011, according to court records.
Laird registered to run for sheriff by the May 15 deadline, according to county records. Efforts to reach him at the time were unsuccessful. He was among 12 candidates interviewed in 2007 for the Leoni Township supervisor position left vacant when Jim Phelps retired. Not selected for the appointment, he then was unemployed and reported he previously worked for Pommark, a heating and air conditioning wholesaler. In 2009, he filed a certified business registration with the county for Lance Laird Roofing, according to earlier reports.
Offices of Jackson County prosecutor, sheriff only county-wide contested seats in this year's elections
Published: Tuesday, May 15, 2012, 10:00 PM
By Danielle Salisbury
The Jackson Citizen Patriot
http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2012/05/offices_of_jackson_county_pros.html
Tuesday was the filing deadline for candidates to appear on the August primary ballot.
Republicans Larry Bradley, a Hanover Township assistant fire chief who runs a tow truck business; and Lance Laird will challenge incumbent Republican Sheriff Steve Rand in August. Kenneth W. Carpenter, a local reserve officer and employee at the Ford plant in Saline, is the only Democrat running for the seat.
Laird, 35, filed most recently and was not included in earlier reports about candidates for sheriff. An effort to reach him Tuesday was not successful.
He was among 12 candidates interviewed in 2007 for the Leoni Township supervisor position left vacant when Jim Phelps retired. Not selected for the appointment, he then was unemployed and reported he previously worked for Pommark, a heating and air conditioning wholesaler. In 2009, he filed a certified business registration with the county for Lance Laird Roofing.
Running for prosecutor are Republicans and local lawyers Allison Bates, Jerry Jarzynka and Craig Pappin. The primary winner will face in November Democrat and attorney Charles Alexander Perlos, who filed Friday as the lone Democratic candidate.
Prosecutor Hank Zavislak announced last month he will not run for a third elected term.
Running unopposed are Clerk Amanda Riska, a Republican; Treasurer Karen A. Coffman, a Democrat; Drain Commissioner Geoffrey W. Snyder, a Republican; and Surveyor Dean R. Gutekunst, a Republican. All four are incumbents.
Riska’s position on the election information is listed as clerk/register of deeds.
Current Register of Deeds Mindy Reilly is not running for re-election and the county earlier discussed combining the two offices as part of an effort to consolidate and reduce spending.
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