Malicious Destruction of Property Plea End Result of Man Damaging Ex’s Car
A young Freeland man who was facing a felony charge for letting his jealousy get the better of him with regard to his ex’s new relationship choices, has accepted a plea deal and will now be forking over a sizable chunk of change.
According to the original testimony of the victim, 21-year-old Chris L. Benford, he and his ex-boyfriend, Evan R. Greskowiak, and a few other mutual friends were out at a bar together. Benford claims that at the end of the evening he had another man named Gordon Jenks pick him up from the bar and take him back to his house.
Later that night, Greskowiak arrived at the house to collect the last of his things from the property, as he was in the final stages of moving out. While there, however, he became enraged to discover Jenks was spending the night with Benford, and decided to let them both know how he felt about it.
Using a key, he scratched up the exterior of Jenk’s car, a black 2014 Ford Fusion, carving the word “cheater” into the driver’s side door, and a penis and testicles into one of the rear doors. The vandalism wasn’t discovered until the afternoon of the following day, when police were contacted.
The responding officers took a report and then contacted Greskowiak, who confessed to the vandalism. During the interview he told police everything – what he had done, how he had done it, and what drove him to it. According to a repair estimate, the damage totaled approximately $3,400.
A warrant was issued for Greskowiak, but he voluntarily appeared for his arraignment in the Bay County District Court, where he was charged with one count of malicious destruction of property between $1,000 and $20,000. Under Michigan law, this is a felony punishable by no more than 5 years in prison and a possible fine of up to $10,000, or three times the amount of the damage done.
However, in return for pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor count of malicious destruction of property between $200 and $1,000, the prosecution agreed to dismiss the five-year felony charge of malicious destruction of property between $1,000 and $20,000. Another part of his plea agreement requires Greskowiak to pay $4,721.24 in restitution fees.
Greskowiak is scheduled to appear before Bay County District Judge Dawn A. Klida tomorrow, January 7th for sentencing. However, court records show that he will likely receive a deferred sentence, which means that if he successfully completes a period of probation, the charge will be dismissed without a conviction being entered on his record.