Attempted marijuana thief pleads guilty

Jesse Ingalls-Johnson

By Allison Scarbrough. OCP Editor.

HART — One of four Hesperia-area men involved in a bizarre incident at a medical marijuana growing facility last fall in Newfield Township which sparked a police manhunt pleaded guilty to attempted larceny over $1,000/less than $20,000 Monday, April 13, in 27th Circuit Court.

One count of possession of burglary tools was dismissed in exchange for 21-year-old Jesse Era Ingalls-Johnson’s guilty plea. Ingalls-Johnson’s jail time will be capped at 30 days in exchange for his plea, Oceana County Prosecutor Joe Bizon told Judge Anthony Monton.

“On Sept. 17, 2014 in Newfield Township, were you engaged in activity in an attempt to steal property that didn’t belong to you?” Monton asked Ingalls-Johnson, who answered, “Yes.”

“Someone seen us and said we shot at her, but it was all a lie,” Ingalls-Johnson testified.

The attempt to steal the marijuana was unsuccessful. “We never touched any marijuana,” Ingalls-Johnson testified.

Bizon told the judge, that based on testimony during the preliminary exam, there were “in excess of 12 mature plants” at the facility.

Ingalls-Johnson’s sentencing is set for May 27 at 9 a.m., and his bond is continued.

Two of the three co-defendants received jail sentences for their role in the crime. Daniel James Swanger, Sr., 46 was found guilty Nov. 10 of attempted larceny $1,000-$20,000. He was sentenced Dec. 22 to six months in jail with credit for two days served; sentence to be served at the court’s discretion with 20 days forthwith; and 18 months probation. Jerome Kenneth Hampton, 20, was found guilty Oct. 27 of attempted larceny $1,000-$20,000. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail with credit for 41 days served; 41 days forthwith; sentence to be served at the court’s discretion; and 18 months probation.

The file for the fourth defendant — Dillon Slade, who was 17 at the time of his arraignment last fall — has been listed as “suppressed” or “non-public,” according to court personnel.