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Shayne Smith with defense attorney Terry Shaw. Oceana County Sheriff’s Deputy Dave Gregwer is pictured in the background.
Man who escaped police custody faces six months in jail.
By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.
#OceanaCountyCrime
HART — The 30-year-old Hesperia man who escaped police custody at Mercy Health Partners Lakeshore Campus in Shelby last August faces six months in jail after pleading guilty Monday, Nov. 19, in 27th Circuit Court to felony charges of assaulting/resisting/obstructing police and larceny $1,000-$20,000.
After nearly 24 hours of being on the loose, Shayne Chris Smith, of 235 McLaren St., was found hiding in a crawl space in a house on Hoskins Street in Hesperia.
Smith escaped police custody Aug. 26 at the hospital after his arrest by the Hesperia Police Department and sought medical treatment en route to the jail, complaining of arm/shoulder pain.
Judge Robert D. Springstead asked Smith to explain how he escaped from Hesperia Police Officer Larry Hoffman. “He was going to the patrol car to unlock it and opened door, and I took off and ran down the street handcuffed,” Smith testified.
“I made it all the way back to Hesperia. I was walking in the rain, and a gentlemen in a pickup truck picked me up.”
“The handcuffs were loose, and I just slipped them off,” Smith said.
“It sounds like the officer was being decent to you by not clamping them down, and you thank him by taking off and running away,” the judge said.
The community was on a high alert as multiple police agencies sought Smith. He was apprehended by the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Hesperia Police Department, Michigan State Police and the Department of Natural Resources.
Smith had been arrested on a warrant for larceny prior to his escape. He testified that on May 25 he stole a riding lawn mower, a shop vac, some DVDs and other property from a residence in the Village of Hesperia. He said the items were located in between the driveway and the garage.
The larceny conviction is punishable by up five years in prison, and assaulting/resisting/obstructing police carries a two-year maximum. One misdemeanor charge of unlawful escape from police custody was dismissed.
His jail term will not exceed six months, and he will serve his time for both convictions concurrently. He will also likely receive a probation term of 18-24 months.
Sentencing is set for Jan. 14 at 9 a.m.
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