03062008 - Deputy Van Wert - Sentenced - Bay County SD

Also See:

Deputy Dale Van Wert charged with CSC

http://michiganoidv.blogspot.com/2006/12/former-deputy-dale-van-wert-bay-county.html

     

Ex-deputy a sex offender
Friday, March 07, 2008
THE SAGINAW NEWS
http://www.mlive.com/news/saginawnews/index.ssf?/base/news25/1204903226111560.xml&coll=9

A former Bay County sheriff's deputy has received his punishment in a Saginaw court on charges he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl in his care.

Dale P. Van Wert learned Thursday he will spend the next three years on probation.

Van Wert, 49, pleaded no contest to one count of attempted sexual assault.

Investigators said he sexually assaulted the teen at his Garfield Township home between Dec. 6, 2006, and Jan. 7, 2007.

Van Wert and his wife operated a foster care home for children from their home near Linwood.

As part of the probation, Saginaw County Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson ordered Van Wert to register as a sex offender, to undergo sexual abuse treatment, to not appear within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, arcades, playgrounds or anywhere else children gather, and not have contact with anyone younger than 17 unless an adult is present to supervise the visit.

Jackson handled the case because Bay County judges recused themselves. The crimes occurred in Bay County.

Jackson also ordered Van Wert to pay $840 in fees and fines and work a job at least 30 hours a week. He gave the former law man credit for the 413 days he already served in jail.

Van Wert's attorney, Matthew L. Reyes of Bay City, said his client was going to live with a brother in Bay County.

Van Wert didn't speak during the sentencing hearing.

''I'd like to know why you did this,'' the mother of the victim asked Van Wert in court. ''I need to know the reason. I don't understand why you threw your life away.''

Bay County Sheriff John Miller fired Van Wert in September 2006 amid allegations he used the Law Enforcement Information Network for his personal process-serving business and he did so while on duty for the sheriff's department.











Former sheriff's deputy gets three years probation
Friday, March 07, 2008
Bay City Times
http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news11/1204906518131170.xml&coll=4

A former Bay County sheriff's deputy has received his punishment in a Saginaw court on charges he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl in his care.

Dale P. Van Wert learned Thursday he will spend the next three years on probation.

Van Wert, 49, pleaded no contest to one count of attempted sexual assault.

Investigators said he sexually assaulted the teen at his Garfield Township home between Dec. 6, 2006, and Jan. 7, 2007.

Van Wert and his wife operated a foster care home for children from their home near Linwood.

As part of the probation, Saginaw County Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson ordered Van Wert to register as a sex offender, to undergo sexual abuse treatment, to not appear within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, arcades, playgrounds or anywhere else children gather, and not have contact with anyone younger than 17 unless an adult is present to supervise the visit.

Jackson handled the case because Bay County judges recused themselves. The crimes occurred in Bay County.

Jackson also ordered Van Wert to pay $840 in fees and fines and work a job at least 30 hours a week. He gave the former law man credit for the 413 days he already served in jail.

Van Wert's attorney, Matthew L. Reyes of Bay City, said his client was going to live with a brother in Bay County.

Van Wert didn't speak during the sentencing hearing.

''I'd like to know why you did this,'' the mother of the victim asked Van Wert in court. ''I need to know the reason. I don't understand why you threw your life away.''

The woman said Van Wert's actions left her angry and confused.

Although she said she's having a difficult time coping with the ordeal and she's certain he committed the crime, the woman said she has forgiven Van Wert.

Bay County Sheriff John Miller fired Van Wert in September 2006 amid allegations he used the Law Enforcement Information Network for his personal process-serving business while on duty for the sheriff's department.

Ex-Deputy Learns Fate In Child Sex Assault
After Serving 14 Months, Van Wert Could Get Probation
WNEN- Channel 5 News
POSTED: 11:23 am EST March 6, 2008
UPDATED: 11:31 am EST March 6, 2008
http://www.wnem.com/news/15512728/detail.html

SAGINAW, Mich. -- A former Bay County sheriff’s deputy will be sentenced Thursday for a sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl.

Dale Van Wert’s first trial ended in a hung jury in December. He entered a no-contest plea last month.

Van Wert will register as a sex offender, and since he has been in custody for 14 months he could be released Thursday and placed on immediate probation.

The sentencing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in Saginaw County court







Van Wert pleads no contest in assault case
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
By CRYSTAL McMORRIS
The Bay City Times

A former Bay County Sheriff's deputy has pleaded no contest to a charge of attempted sexual assault and guilty to three counts of unauthorized use of the Law Enforcement Information Network.

Dale P. Van Wert entered the pleas Monday afternoon in Saginaw County Circuit Court, where Judge Darnell Jackson is handling the case due to recusal of Bay County judges. The crimes to which Van Wert pleaded occurred in Bay County. He faces up to 10 years in prison when sentenced March 6, but guidelines indicate a shorter sentence is likely.

Van Wert, who as a deputy was assigned to Bay County Court security, was accused of obtaining information through Central Dispatch for use in his own process-serving business while on duty in 2006

He also had been charged with several sex crimes alleging sexual assault of a 13-year-old at his Linwood-area home in 2006 and 2007. The more serious sex charges were dismissed as part of a plea bargain.

''You can lock a man up for 13 months with no bond, and eventually he's going to make decisions that are going to get him out of jail,'' said Matthew Reyes, Van Wert's defense attorney.

A jury in December was unable to reach a verdict after hearing several days of testimony about the alleged sexual assaults.

Bay County Prosecutor Kurt Asbury said he consulted with the victim and her mother and determined that it was ''in the best interest of the victim and the public to resolve this matter without another trial.''

Asbury said sentencing guidelines indicate that Van Wert may be released with time served, which will amount to about 14 months. Van Wert also will be required to register as a sex offender and will be placed on probation.

''Given all the circumstances of the case, and the fact that we tried to convict him previously, we're satisfied that he's been convicted of a very serious felony and will be a registered sex offender for life,'' Asbury said.

Reyes said Van Wert agreed to the plea bargain as a way of ''putting an end to the saga.''

03042008 - Deputy Kevin Haan - Allegan County SD

DEPUTY KEVIN HAAN, ALLEGAN COUNTY SHERIFF DEPARTMENT.

Arrested on March 04, 2008 for making threatening phone calls to his wife.

Original charges: Malicious use of a phone [misdemeanor].

Released on bond, with conditions that Deputy Haan have no contact with his wife and that he not consume alcohol.

Former Officer Kevin Haan - Driving while intoxicated [Oct. 15, 2012]

http://michiganoidv.blogspot.com/2012/10/former-deputy-kevin-haan-allegan-county.html

Officer Kevin Haan - Driving while intoxicated [March 28, 2008]

http://michiganoidv.blogspot.com/2008/03/deputy-kevin-haan-allegan-co-sd_28.html

Officer Kevin Haan - Arrested for violating domestic violence bond [March 13, 2008]

http://michiganoidv.blogspot.com/2008/03/deputy-kevin-haan-allegan-co-sd.html

Officer Kevin Haan - Arrested for domestic violence [March 04, 2008]

http://michiganoidv.blogspot.com/2008/03/deputy-haan-allegan-county-sd.html

From: Cloudwriter / Behind The Blue Wall:

http://www.behindthebluewall.blogspot.com/

Allegan County deputy suspended after third arrest
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
By Nate Reens
The Grand Rapids Press
http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/04/allegan_county_sheriffs_deputy.html

Deputy Kevin Haan [Allegan County Sheriff Department]

ALLEGAN COUNTY -- A veteran sheriff's deputy has been suspended without pay after he was arrested three times in the past month, twice by his co-workers, Allegan County Undersheriff Jim Hull said.

Kevin Haan, a 43-year-old road patrol officer serving the county's northeastern townships, has not returned to work since a March 4 arrest by fellow deputies for allegedly placing a threatening phone call to his wife.

Haan, who was charged by Allegan prosecutors with a misdemeanor for malicious use of a phone, was subsequently arrested on accusations he violated bond conditions by contacting his spouse again, Hull said.

The deputy originally was placed on a paid leave, but that status was changed by department leaders Thursday to unpaid suspension after an internal hearing.

The next day, Hull said, Haan was arrested on suspicion of drunken-driving in Barry County. Details of that incident were not available.

"He's really going through a tough time in his personal life right now," Hull said. "He's a fabulous deputy, but he's got some things he has to deal with right now and he can't do that while working."

Hull said Haan threatened his wife, but there is no allegation that any violence occurred. Haan could not be reached for comment.

The criminal accusations are a stunning departure from two years ago, when Sheriff Blaine Koops presented Haan with the department's ALLCOPS award for excellence in community policing.

"The professionalism, dedication and teamwork displayed by these officers are a credit to our department," Koops said in April 2006 while honoring Haan and several other employees.

As the undersheriff, Hull holds Haan's fate in his hands. Hull is responsible for reviewing recommendations for discipline that he expects a board of two force sergeants and a lieutenant to hand him next week.

Haan could be fired or face other corrective measures.

Had heart surgery.
Haan has worked for the county for about 18 years, earning praise from the heads of Dorr, Salem and Leighton townships in 2000. Leaders in those governments fought for Haan to be returned to their area after he was transferred to a neighboring community.

The deputy underwent an unspecified heart surgery, and the move was explained as a less-strenuous way to help him recuperate.

Hull said Haan's arrest by his fellow deputies was difficult, but necessary.

"They've got a job that they have to do, regardless of who it is," Hull said.









Court documents reveal arrested deputy's state of mind
Posted: April 1, 2008 10:36 PM CST
Updated: April 1, 2008 11:13 PM CST
By Marc Thompson
http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.aspS=8104181

ALLEGAN, Mich. (WOOD) -- Court documents reveal an Allegan County sheriff's deputy is potentially a danger to himself and others, after winding up on the wrong side of the law, not once, but three times.

It is a story 24 Hour News 8 broke Monday night.

As we dug deeper into court records, it appears Kevin Haan may have been on the verge of a breakdown.

Haan was first arrested March 4 for allegedly making threatening phone calls to his estranged wife. He was released on bond, but with conditions, including not consuming alcohol and having no further contact with his spouse.

But according to court documents obtained by 24 Hour News 8, Haan violated those conditions by calling his wife again on March 13. He also admitted to drinking a half pint of vodka and blowing a 0.18 alcohol level.

Haan told his wife he was considering checking himself into Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services in Grand Rapids.

His wife told police "he should not be on the streets." She feared Haan may "try and kill himself...have an accident...or hurt her."

Haan told deputies he "could not go on."

Officers in his own department arrested him for a second time for violating an unknown condition of the bond.

Then came arrest number three on March 24. This time Haan was apparently drunk behind the wheel of his car in Barry County, crossing the centerline on M-37, according to a police report. He was arrested for operating while intoxicated.

Haan told the arresting officer he "was having marital problems." He again admitted to drinking a half pint of vodka.

Haan said he was on a cocktail of prescription medication for depression and bipolar disorder.

Haan is on unpaid administrative leave while a review board looks into his future with the department.

Sheriff's officials told 24 Hour News 8 all employees have access to mental health assistance through Help Net, a firm in Kalamazoo. Officials would not confirm for us, however, whether Haan sought that assistance.










Sheriff's deputy arrested a third time
Posted: March 31, 2008
By Tony Tagliavia
http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8097623&nav=menu44_2

DORR TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) -- An Allegan County sheriff's deputy is off the beat after being arrested a third time.

Kevin Haan is on unpaid administrative leave as a board of inquiry decides his fate after allegations of drunken driving, making a threatening phone call to his wife, and violating the terms of his bond.

Haan patrolled Dorr Township and a couple of neighboring communities for years. He even won an award for community policing from Salem Township.

"That doesn't sound like him as far as what I knew him for," said Dorr Township Supervisor Don Kaczanowski. "He was very good at communicating the people."

The threatening phone calls occurred about a month ago. Haan was released on bond but violated an unknown condition of that bond and was arrested again.

Then Haan was arrested sometime last week in Barry County for drunken driving - a crime in and of itself, but also another violation of that original bond.

Undersheriff Jim Hull says these events have been tough on the department, describing Haan as a longtime employee, and a good one.

An internal affairs investigation was done and reviewed by an outside department.

Now a board of inquiry has met, waiting for more information, and is expected to meet again next week. The board will make a recommendation on what will happen to Haan as far as his job is concerned.

24 Hour News 8 was unable to contact Haan.