A Mt. Pleasant man will spend up to one year in jail for his role in circumstances surrounding the death of his friend in an off-road vehicle crash two years ago.
Stephen French Smith, 46, was sentenced Friday after pleading no contest last month to one count of operating/allowing an intoxicated person to operate a motor vehicle causing death, a five-year felony; and one count of interfering with crime reports, a one-year misdemeanor.
Those charges stem from a Sept. 19, 2016 ORV crash at Smith’s family deer camp in Sherman Township that killed Thomas Anderman, 30, of Mt. Pleasant.
Smith was originally charged with operating while intoxicated causing death, a 15-year felony and tampering with evidence in a criminal case punishable by more than 10 years, a 10-year felony.
Other charges were dropped in exchange for Smith’s plea and no sentencing recommendation is included in the agreement.
Family — including Anderman’s wife who was pregnant and caring for the couple’s young son when he died, along with his father Thomas Anderman Sr. — spoke to the court before Smith was sentenced.
While acknowledging that his son’s death was caused by an accident, Anderman Sr. expressed frustration that from his perspective, Smith is not take responsibility for his actions that night, said Acting Isabella County Prosecutor Robert Holmes.
“Mr. Anderman Sr. said something to the effect of, ‘Don’t sell your soul to save face,’” Holmes said.
In a four-day preliminary hearing last December, Holmes called multiple witnesses to testify including law enforcement officers, specialists, a medical examiner and more, painting a picture that Smith was driving, had tampered with the crash scene and then lied to police about who was driving.
During that preliminary hearing, Smith’s defense attorney Michael Hackett at times meticulously questioned at length witnesses including emergency responders and police, asking specific details about evidence gathered and not gathered at the accident scene.
Ultimately, Isabella County Judge William Ervin ordered Smith to stand trial on all but one charge; in April, when Smith pleaded no contest to the lesser charges, Ervin relied on five volumes of transcripts from the preliminary hearing to accept the plea.
While there is evidence that either Smith or Anderman could have been driving the court found there was probable cause to believe that Smith was intoxicated and was in fact the driver at the time of the ORV crash that killed his friend, supporting the original charge of intoxicated driving causing death, Ervin said in April.
Further, “ample evidence” presented during the preliminary hearing including expert and police testimony swayed the court to find probable cause that Smith did stage the accident scene to make it appear as though Anderman was driving, supporting the original tampering with evidence charge.
At Smith’s sentencing Friday, Ervin echoed those findings noting that while he can’t know for sure who was driving he believes Smith was behind the wheel. Holmes said.
A timeline compiled by Smith’s defense team and emailed to the Morning Sun indicates that Smith offered the no contest plea, “in an effort to resolve the uncertainty of a trial, and to reduce the stress and sorrow this tragic accident has caused both families.”
In the timeline, defense attorney Hackett disputes the validity of some of the prosecution’s evidence presented during the prelinary hearing and argues that the court did not have the opportunity to hear from defense expert witnesses.
Smith himself apologized to the Anderman family during his sentencing.
“I’m satisfied with the way things resolved even if it’s not optimal,” Holmes said. “We started behind the eight ball because police did not at first approach the initial scene as a crime scene that had been manipulated but rather an injury accident. IT was through the diligent hard work of police that were able to be put in a situation to pursue charges.”
In addition to one year in jail, Smith was sentenced to five years of probation, fines and restitution to the Anderman family for funeral and burial costs.
Anderman was remembered after his death as a friendly, giving and big-hearted man who was passionate about his family and outdoor recreation.