Judge denies defendant’s attempt to withdraw plea.

Sobers

Judge denies defendant’s attempt to withdraw plea.

By Allison Scarbrough, Editor.

LUDINGTON — A 45-year-old Hamlin Township man recently convicted of larceny $1,000-$20,000, third-degree fleeing police and two counts of assaulting/resisting/obstructing police was denied a motion to withdraw his guilty plea in 51st Circuit Court Thursday, Nov. 4, by Judge Susan K. Sniegowski.

Jeromy Richard Sobers, of 4309 N. Jebavy Dr., pleaded guilty to the charges last July in two separate cases, according to court records.

“It is the court’s belief this is just a stalling tactic,” said Judge Sniegowski. “Every element was covered at the plea hearing. The motion fails.” 

The fleeing police and one of the assaulting/resisting/obstructing convictions stem from an incident last June when Sobers fled from a Mason County sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop. He led police on a high-speed chase that crossed the county line into Lake County.

Lake County sheriff’s deputies assisted Mason County sheriff’s deputies during the 34-mile chase, which reached speeds of nearly 100 MPH. The pursuit ended when Sobers’ Chevrolet Impala failed to stop at the end of a dead end road and struck a tree. He then fled on foot, but was captured after a short foot chase.

The other case stems from the theft of a camper trailer. Sobers and David Gene Newman of Grand Haven were arrested for stealing a 2019 26-foot Cherokee Travel Coach valued at over $18,000 from Vacation Trailer Sales on North US 3 in August of 2019. The Mason County Sheriff’s Office obtained felony arrest warrants for the pair in February of 2020.

Officers with the Muskegon Township Police Department recovered the trailer about a month later and turned it over to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office.

Newman’s case is pending.

Sober’s sentencing in the two cases is set for Dec. 14 at 1 p.m.

Sobers has an extensive criminal record. He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for a conviction of methamphetamine possession in 2019. In 2016, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for two counts of assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer. Sobers was sentenced to two years in prison for third-offense operating a vehicle while intoxicated/impaired/controlled substance and breaking and entering in 2010. Those offenses took place in Mason County. 

In 2002, he was sentenced to four years in prison in Lake County for breaking and entering.

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