MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – A Macomb County sheriff's deputy accused of filing fake breathalyzer tests was sentenced Thursday to a year of probation.
Joseph Cada, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of interfering with a crime report for his part in falsifying PBT results for co-defendant Trista Leigh-Ann Caswell, 28, of New Baltimore.
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As a condition of his plea, Cada surrendered his Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards certification, which means that he will never work in law enforcement again.
He's also not allowed to have contact with Caswell.
Caswell, a civilian, pleaded guilty to the same offense on May 1, 2013. She has already been sentenced to supervised probation.
Background on case
On March 24, 2011, Novi's 52-1 District Court ordered Caswell to take in-home alcohol breathalyzer tests as a condition of her probation for a disorderly person charge. After missing multiple breathalyzer tests and failing one, Caswell met Cada at her place of employment, the Traffic Light, an adult entertainment establishment in Mt. Clemens, to concoct a scheme to avoid future tests.
Cada and Caswell conspired to mislead the Court and its probation agents by filing fraudulent statements attesting that Caswell passed five breathalyzer tests administered by Cada. Five fraudulent statements bearing the insignia of the Macomb County Sheriff Department were drafted and signed by Cada. Three of the fraudulent statements listed his badge number on them. The statements declared that Cada administered the court-ordered breathalyzer tests, and that Caswell "blew .000" on all of them. The statements were submitted to the Court's probation agent on October 24, 2012.
When called before District Court Judge Robert Bondy on November 6, 2012, Caswell admitted Cada's statements were fraudulent. Judge Bondy sentenced Caswell to 90 days in the Oakland County Jail for violating the conditions of her parole.