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05/10/2006The man who cried 'mouse' accepts a plea deal
Ryan Daniel Goff, 20, of Traverse City, at his first court hearing in March. TRAVERSE CITY — A Traverse City man could be headed to prison for an "ill-conceived" plan to extort money from a fast-food restaurant by planting a mouse in a burrito. Ryan Daniel Goff, 20, pleaded guilty to a felony count of attempted false pretenses between $1,000 and $20,000. Thirteenth Circuit Court Judge Philip Rodgers accepted the plea. Goff was at the Chum's Corner Taco Bell 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 tale of his mouse discovery — to the health department, calling Taco Bell's regional manager — but they were most interested 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" and later watched him place one of the rodents in his burrito, the girlfriend told authorities. Goff remains jailed on $100,000 bond pending a June sentencing hearing. He originally was charged with attempted extortion, a five-year felony. Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Alan Schneider offered the deal to Goff, who admitted to misrepresentation in order to obtain money from the chain, in part because it was such a low-brow scheme. "The plan was so ill-conceived from the beginning that it is more foolish than sinister," he said. "This is a significant penalty for that." Schneider said Goff also pleaded guilty to a four-year felony of larceny in a building from an earlier case, which "kind of factored in, as well" in the offer. See related stories:
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