Council-Appointed City Councilor is Alleged Arsonist of Hesperia House

 As Michael Krauch has been coronated as the new Fourth Ward Councilor by the rest of the city council, we all should look a little to the south of us where another appointed councilor is making a name for himself. 

Hesperia Councilor David Pates has been strongly connected to setting fire to his own business, the Hesperia House in the spring of 2014.  He fled to North Carolina to avoid the two-count felony warrant prepared especially for him by the Oceana County Sheriff's Office (who previously arrested and helped convict Hart Councilor Tim Shannon who was convicted of killing his wife in the bathtub back in 2013).

Even with this hanging over his head, the Village President has said that Councilor Pates must remain on the council, as they cannot legally take any action against him.  Only the governor has that authority he said.

If that legally is the case, why would anyone want a council-appointed councilor who can commit felonies and not be removed from the council except via the governor's office?  With a democratically elected councilor, the rules are well established and a recall by the people can happen at anytime.  The councilors of Ludington's city council who have already warned against the people sometimes making bad choices in democratic elections would do well to look at what has happened in Hesperia before the next time they open their mouths. 

If they decide on an appointee who does something like David Pates has been alleged to do, they cannot blame democracy, they can only blame themselves.  And so will the people. 

HESPERIA —  Hesperia Village Councilman David Sean Pates, 32, a co-owner of the Hesperia House restaurant, turned himself in to authorities this afternoon for allegedly setting his own restaurant on fire last spring.

Pates was recently arrested in North Carolina, and local law enforcement officials were waiting for an Oct. 1 hearing to see whether or not he was going to waive extradition.

“Mr. David Sean Pates has just turned himself in at the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office on the outstanding warrant charging him with arson from the fire in the Hesperia House fire from earlier this year,” stated Lt. Craig Mast this afternoon.

Pates is being charged with third-degree arson, which is a 10-year felony, and preparing to burn real property, a five-year felony.

The OCSO issued a two-count felony warrant for Pates at the end of August for allegedly committing arson to the restaurant last April.

The restaurant, which is still standing, has not been open for business since the alleged arson occurred, the night of April 29, said Mast. Hesperia House is located at 205 S. Division St. in the village limits.

“It was deemed that both fires were not naturally occurring,” Mast said. “There was no link of connection between the two fires.” There was a time difference of a few hours between the two fires, Mast said.

Investigators immediately became suspicious of the blaze, because there were two separate fires in a hallway area inside the building, Mast said. The alleged arson was investigated by Deputy Jeff Brown, a fire expert for the Oceana County Fire Investigation Team, as well as experts for the restaurant’s insurance company.

The restaurant sustained “considerable smoke damage,” Mast said, and no injuries occurred from the blaze.

Village President Jim Smith said Sept. 18 that Pates remained on the council and stated that the council cannot legally take any action to have him removed from his position with the village. “That is up to the governor (of Michigan),” Smith said.

Smith said Sept. 18 that he did not have any attendance records available from previous meetings.

According to the Oceana County Directory, Pates was appointed last November to a partial term on the council that expires in November of 2016, and he will be up for re-election on the upcoming November ballot.

http://www.oceanacountypress.com/2014/09/30/councilman-facing-arson...

Views: 520

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Why is it that the Governor must remove Mr. Pates? That doesn't make any sense.

I think he uses this rationale:  Pates' office is elective by law, even though he was appointed.  He can't be 'fired' by the other officials.  Pates is not subject to recall because it's too close to the next regular election for the position he holds.  In Ludington's charter a 'vacancy shall be deemed to occur upon expiration of term, death, resignation, removal authorized by law or forfeiture, lack of qualifications for elected office by Charter or law, recall, loss of residency in district involved, conviction of a felony, or failure to take the oath of office.'

He has only been accused of a felony, and we must presume that he could very well be innocent at this point.  One could hope that he had an opponent in the election.

Looks like the appointed (not elected) Hesperia City Councilor David Pates got a nice deal from the prosecutor on the attempted arson of his own business.  On the good news front, our own undemocratically elected councilor, Michael Krauch, has not been convicted of anything.

The Hesperia House co-owner and former Hesperia village councilman who burned his restaurant a year ago pleaded “no contest” to third-degree arson Thursday morning, April 2, in 27th Circuit Court, and faces up to 90 days in jail in a plea agreement.

David Sean Pates, 33, who was slated for a jury trial next week, is now scheduled for sentencing May 27 at 9 a.m. He is free on a $25,000/10 percent cash/surety bond.

In exchange for his “no contest” plea to third-degree arson, one count of arson — preparing to burn real property was

dismissed. The prosecution and the defense agreed to a 90-day cap on Pates’ jail time. He was initially facing a maximum of 10 years in prison for third-degree arson and five years for preparing to burn real property.

Pates was arrested last fall in North Carolina, and then surrendered to the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office on an outstanding warrant.

Investigators at the fire scene a year ago immediately became suspicious of the blaze, because there were two separate fires in a hallway area inside the building, and there was a time difference of a few hours between the two fires.

The arson was investigated by Deputy Jeff Brown, a fire expert for the Oceana County Fire Investigation Team, as well as experts for the restaurant’s insurance company, Argo Insurance Co. Restaurant staff and management were interviewed during the investigation.

The popular restaurant, which is still standing, has not been open for business since it burned. No one was injured in the fires.

http://www.oceanacountypress.com/2015/04/02/hesperia-house-co-owner...

And yet, none of the democratically elected Hesperia council members have ever been convicted of arson of their own property...

David Sean Pates, a Hesperia business owner and former [council-appointed] village council member, has been sentenced to jail for setting fire to his restaurant.

Oceana County Circuit Judge Anthony A. Monton on Wednesday, May 27, sentenced Pates to the Oceana County Jail for nine months, with 90 days to be served up front and the rest at the discretion of the judge, for third-degree arson. Monton granted a request by Pates' attorney, Matthew Kacel of Muskegon, that Pates be allowed to start his jail sentence June 10 after his children finish school for the summer.

Monton also ordered Pates to pay more than $46,000 in restitution to his insurance company. The judge placed him on probation for two years.

Pates pleaded no contest to third-degree arson in April in exchange for dismissal of another count of arson-preparation to burn real property, Oceana County Joseph Bizon said.

"I think it's a fair and just result," Bizon said. "This is within what the guidelines were for that case."

Pates was charged last year in connection with two fires April  30, 2014, at the Hesperia House Restaurant & Lounge, 205 S. Division.

Pates is the owner of the Hesperia House & Restaurant, Mast said. He has also served on the village of Hesperia board of trustees, according to the village website. 

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2015/05/oceana_county_...

Wow, talk about scamming the system. I wonder how much money exchanged hands on this deal. Someone who actually set fire intentionally then commits fraud by collecting  insurance money should get a lot more than 90 days in jail. This must be one of those "who you know" situations.

RSS

© 2024   Created by XLFD.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service