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Jeffrey Miller with his attorney, Al Swanson, Jr.
Accused kidnapper’s accomplice pleads guilty to conspiracy.
#MasonCountyNews #CourtNews
By Allison Scarbrough. Editor.
LUDINGTON — The 50-year-old accomplice of accused kidnapper Alan Saporita-Fargo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit unlawful imprisonment in 51st Circuit Court Tuesday, March 7.
Jeffrey Alan Miller testified before Judge Susan K. Sniegowski Tuesday that he served as Fargo’s driver when Fargo allegedly kidnapped his 2-year-old daughter, Hailey Hunter-Rose Fargo, Jan. 23. The alleged kidnapping resulted in a manhunt for Miller and Fargo, who were both captured in Hillsdale County. Hailey was also found unharmed.
In exchange for Miller’s plea, the prosecution is recommending that Miller serve one year in jail, said Mason County Prosecutor Paul Spaniola. Miller will also be required to register as sex offender due to the victim’s age.
Saporita-Fargo
Fargo, 47, failed to return his daughter from an unsupervised visitation in Muskegon. Hailey was in foster care in Muskegon County but under the jurisdiction of Mason County Probate Court.
“He asked me to drive him because he didn’t want to go to his court date,” Miller testified. Fargo left town when he was supposed to appear for a trial in 51st Circuit Court for a felony charge of third-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC).
The CSC charge, which carries a 15-year maximum, stems from an incident that occurred Oct. 31, 2014 involving a teenage victim. Hailey was not the victim in that case, Spaniola said.
Fargo, who is currently lodged in the Mason County Jail on a $500,000 bond, faces a four-year felony of absconding bond in addition to a 15-year felony of conspiracy to commit unlawful imprisonment. He waived his preliminary exam last week, Spaniola said, and no new trial date has been set yet.
Miller said Fargo asked him to be his driver “two weeks ahead of time,” and he agreed. “He made arrangements to pick up Hailey and take her with us,” Miller said. He stated that he knew that Fargo did not have permission to take the child.
Sentencing guidelines in the case are 19-38 months, the prosecutor said.
Miller’s sentencing is set for April 11 at 2 p.m. His address in his court file is “unknown.”
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