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06/03/2006Mouse tale leads to prisonMan sentenced in plot; girlfriend squealed to police
Ryan Goff looks back at family members after pleading guilty to attempted false pretenses between $1,000 and $20,000 in 13th Circuit Court on Friday. Goff will serve at least 16 months in prison. TRAVERSE CITY — A Traverse City man is headed to prison for his failed plot to plant a mouse in a burrito to squeeze money from a fast-food chain. Ryan Daniel Goff, 20, will spend at least 16 months in state prison for a January scam at the Chum's Corner Taco Bell, when he put a dead mouse in a burrito "to get rich." Thirteenth Circuit Court Judge Philip Rodgers sentenced Goff Friday after he pleaded guilty in May to a charge of attempted false pretenses between $1,000 and $20,000. Rodgers said Goff's actions against Taco Bell were "malicious" and "vindictive," but because he was "not too bright," the plan failed quickly and the restaurant did not suffer "catastrophic" economic harm. "When it comes to life I have been so blinded," Goff told Rodgers, and blamed his actions on bad judgement and an ongoing substance abuse problem. "I didn't like to follow the book," he said. "My decisions aren't right." Prosecutor Alan Schneider earlier agreed to dismiss a count of attempted extortion, a five-year felony, in exchange for the plea. Goff also pleaded guilty to felony larceny last month on an unrelated case. "It was done so poorly you were given a plea to a much less serious charge," said Rodgers of the extortion attempt. "This type of behavior, though not well thought out, exhibits a callous indifference to others." Rodgers sentenced Goff to 16 to 30 months for the burrito plot and a concurrent term of 16 to 48 months for the larceny. Goff was at the restaurant on Jan. 24 when he complained to an employee that his burrito tasted "funny," Grand Traverse County sheriff's investigators said. Police said Goff then made the rounds with the mouse tall tale, including trips to the health department and a call to Taco Bell's regional manager with threats of going to the media. Goff was trapped, though, when his girlfriend admitted Goff purchased frozen mice from a pet store prior to his trip to Taco Bell. Goff told her he bought the mice "to get rich quick." She told police she later watched Goff place one of the rodents in his burrito. Rodgers refused a request from attorney Melanie Stanton to consider allowing Goff to serve his time in a state "boot camp" prison facility. "You are going to do the time, Mr. Goff," Rodgers said. See related stories:
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