No charges after sheriff leaves gun in Shepherd school

Isabella County Sheriff Michael Main will not face criminal charges after inadvertently leaving a loaded handgun in a school locker room where a student discovered it, after a special prosecutor reviewed the facts of the case.

Shepherd sixth grader Kaleb Griffin found the gun on top of a toilet paper holder in a middle school bathroom stall before first hour on Monday, March 14 and immediately reported the weapon to a teacher.

Related: Shepherd student’s wise actions prevented tragic possibilities

Within moments Shepherd Police Chief Luke Sawyer was at the school where he unloaded the Glock 27 and took it into evidence, according to investigative reports obtained by the Morning Sun through the Freedom of Information Act.

As he left the building, Sheriff Main called Sawyer to report that he believed the gun was his own; the sheriff said he had mistakenly left it in the locker room when he used the facility to change over that weekend.

Roads in mid-Michigan were slippery that day, so Sawyer placed Main’s gun in the trunk of his car before being dispatched to a two-car accident on U.S.-127, according to the investigation.

A short time later Main met Sawyer at the accident scene and retrieved his gun as news spread through the community that a weapon had been found in the school; police and administrators notified parents that the gun was left by mistake by a police officer.

The next morning Main issued a public statement admitting the gun was his and apologizing for his own negligence.

“I have no excuse for my lack of responsibility with this matter. I have worked diligently my entire career to protect people, especially our youth. However, I have failed to do just that, and I’m devastated with my lack of accountability in this matter,” he wrote.

The Shepherd Police Department investigation into the found gun was handed to the Isabella County Prosecutors Office, which in turn asked the attorney general’s office to assign a special prosecutor.

Because of Isabella County’s long standing relation ship with Main – including as a former Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police Department Officer, former Chief of the Shepherd Police Department and currently as sheriff – the case was forwarded on to avoid the appearance of impropriety, said Acting Prosecutor Robert Holmes.

Mecosta County Prosecutor Brian Thiede was assigned and notified Sawyer by letter dated March 27 that after reviewing the police report and Main’s public statement, no charges would be filed.