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Shayne Smith with his attorney Terry Shaw. Oceana County sheriff’s deputy Dave Gregwer is pictured in the background.
Man who escaped police custody sentenced to 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 was sentenced to six months in jail in 27th Circuit Court Monday, Jan. 14.
Shayne Chris Smith, of 235 McLaren St., pleaded guilty last November to felony charges of assaulting/resisting/obstructing police and larceny $1,000-$20,000.
After nearly 24 hours of being on the loose, Smith was found hiding in a crawl space in a house on Hoskins Street in Hesperia.
He escaped police custody at the hospital, Aug. 26 , 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 previously 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 previously 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 outside a residence in the Village of Hesperia.
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.
Smith received credit for 140 days served in jail.
“I have a baby on the way,” Smith said Monday. “I would like to get out (of jail) and do right.”
Smith did not receive probation because he’s already on probation for a conviction of receiving and concealing firearms.
“You were on probation when you did this stuff,” said Springstead. “I feel bad that you have a baby on the way, but you’re getting sentenced at the bottom of the guidelines.”
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