Two Harbor Springs residents are facing criminal charges after, police say, they unlawfully entered a house, located at 30 Sayan Drive, in Harbor Springs, that is owned by a bank and listed for sale, and planted dead animals and insects throughout it.
Dean Leonard Carpenter, 57, and Marilyn Gardner Laffoon, 62, were arrested Thursday, Aug. 11, and are to appear in Emmet County’s 90th District Court for arraignments on Thursday, Sept. 1, court records show. The alleged offenses occurred on or about May through August of this year, according to an affidavit filed in district court.
Carpenter and Laffoon each face charges of third-degree home invasion, a felony offense with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or a $2,000 fine; conspiracy to commit third-degree home invasion, a felony offense with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and an additional $10,000 fine; and malicious destruction of a building, $200 or more but less than $1,000, a misdemeanor offense with a maximum penalty of one year and/or a $2,000 fine, or three times the amount of destruction or injury, whichever is greater, court records show.
The house where the alleged crimes took place is owned by First Community Bank as a result of foreclosure and is listed for sale by Graham Real Estate, according to the affidavit. The asking price is $375,000, according to the Graham Real Estate website.
The house, previously owned by Austin Koss, is positioned between Bluff Gardens, a business operated by Carpenter, and Laffoon’s residence, according to the affidavit.
Graham Real Estate agents reported finding feces and three dead raccoons in the house on June 1. Two of the raccoon carcasses were found in locked closets on the first and second floors and one was in a bathtub on the second floor, the affidavit states. And there were three more instances before Aug. 4 when other animals, including dead or dying squirrels, were found in the house, according to the affidavit. One of those squirrels was found dead in a trap.
After each discovery Lauer Pest Control disposed of the dead and dying animals and inspected the home for potential points of entry but found none, according to the affidavit.
Additionally, a real estate agent who was showing the home discovered a “pungent odor” emanating from the heat ducts and the carpeting, which was stained, according to the affidavit. The stained carpet was removed by bank representatives and MacGregor Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning Electrical Service treated and replaced duct work, according to the affidavit. The odor was later determined to have been caused by a substance, similar to one used by hunters to conceal their scent, that had been poured into the ducts, according to the affidavit.
The incidents were reported to the Harbor Springs Police Department and surveillance cameras were placed in the house during July and August, according the affidavit.
Then on Thursday, Aug. 4, the house was found to be infested with crickets, according to the affidavit.
Officials conducted an investigation and reviewed video footage, which showed Laffoon “walking through the house distributing something from a large white bucket,” according to the affidavit. The video also showed a man, later identified as Carpenter, “standing outside looking through a window into the residence,” according to the affidavit.
When initially interviewed by police, both Carpenter and Laffoon denied having any knowledge of or involvement with the alleged crimes, the affidavit states. But after being informed of the video footage, they told police it was a joke, that they had not intended to harm anyone or the premises, and “attributed their conduct to ‘boredom,'” according to the affidavit.
Carpenter told police his cousin raises crickets and said he had gotten them from him. He also told police he routinely traps animals as part of his farming operations.
A Bluff Gardens employee told police he routinely traps animals, such as raccoons and squirrels, and kills and disposes of them, according to the affidavit. The employee told police Carpenter had recently asked him to preserve the trapped animals so he could freeze them and use them as crow bait, something he said Carpenter had never asked him to do before. The employee said he placed the animals in buckets but did not freeze them.
The employee also told police he had seen Carpenter on the property at 30 Sayan Drive.
The affidavit also states, the listing agent told police both Nathan Laffoon and Marilyn Laffoon had complained about listing signs on the property in question and that several such signs had disappeared from the premises.
Marilyn Laffoon could not immediately be reached for comment and Carpenter declined to comment when contacted by the Petoskey News-Review.