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December 22, 2004Kirtland Community College cop facing indictments on gun chargesThey stem from time in Rose City, attorney saysByand Record-Eagle staff writers ROSCOMMON - A Kirtland Community College police officer who faces federal firearms charges will keep his job while the charges are pending, school officials said. The charges stem from when Maxwell Lee Garnett was police chief in Rose City, Garnett's defense attorney said. Garnett, of Rose City, is currently one of four public safety officers and has been with Kirtland Community College for five years, said Irene Borak, the college's director of public relations. Borak said the charges will not affect Garnett's employment status. "We don't anticipate that this will change his certification as a police officer," Borak said. "Therefore, the college doesn't consider this to affect his employment here, at least at this time." Kirtland has a campus in Roscommon, holds classes in Crawford County, and also is affiliated with the M-TEC campus in Gaylord. Garnett faces 10 charges, including five counts related to the unlawful import or manufacture of firearms and five counts of attempt to evade or defeat tax, according to federal court records. Garnett was arraigned on Dec. 10 and stood mute. Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Bob Lesneski investigated the case and said he handed it off to federal authorities after state police seized a cache of automatic weapons and silencers. He said federal officers did not share with him any developments in the case. "They are not telling me anything. I'm not in the loop anymore," Lesneski said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Janet L. Parker, who is prosecuting the case, did not return a message seeking comment. Garnett's defense attorney, William Brisbois, said the charges stem from Garnett's stint as police chief in Rose City in 2000. Brisbois said Garnett is accused of not following proper procedures for paying taxes or getting manufacturer exemptions when he made service weapons for two of his officers while he was police chief. "I think it is an extremely odd case; I think the investigation initially started with allegations of other types of wrongdoing and those allegations are unsupported," Brisbois said. Brisbois said what Garnett is accused of doing is common practice among small police departments in the state. "We intend to try the case and we would certainly hope to demonstrate to the jury that there was no fraudulent intent and there was no criminal intent whatsoever on Max's part," he said.
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