EATON COUNTY, Mich. – A Michigan man who was convicted by a jury on six felony charges for falsifying documents related to breathalyzer maintenance has been sentenced to nine months in jail and an additional 27 months of probation.
Andrew Clark was one of two men charged in the case. Attorney General Dana Nessel said he and David John, 59, of Kalamazoo, were contracted to service law enforcement alcohol testing instruments, but they falsified records related to two DataMaster DMTs.
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The DataMaster DMT is designed to measure a driver’s breath alcohol concentration in possible drunken driving cases. It’s commonly referred to as a breathalyzer.
A four-month investigation revealed Clark and John created fake documents saying they had completed tests and repairs on DataMasters from the Beverly Hills Police Department and the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office that they were supposed to calibrate and diagnose, according to Nessel.
Officials said John falsified three certifications for devices at the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office on Nov. 14, 2019; Dec. 23, 2019; and Dec. 27, 2019. He created the November certification on a spare DataMaster DMT at his home and then cut and pasted the December certifications to create the false documents, according to authorities.
He submitted those false certifications as accurate and “complete,” officials said.
John pleaded guilty in December 2020 to all nine charges he faced -- three counts each of forgery of a public record, uttering and publishing, and use of a computer to commit a crime. He was sentenced to 36 months of probation, the first nine of which were served in the Kalamazoo County Jail.
Clark opted for a trial, which began last month. He was convicted on two counts each of forgery of a public record, uttering and publishing, and use of a computer to commit a crime.
Forgery of a public record and uttering and publishing are both 14-year felony charges, according to a release. Use of a computer to commit a crime is a 10-year felony charge, the release says.
Clark was sentenced Thursday (June 23) to 36 moths of probation, with the first nine months to be served in the Eaton County Jail.
“Our public integrity team continues to demonstrate the great importance of pursuing bad actors who subvert the criminal justice system and threaten the integrity of our judicial process,” Nessel said. “We must show that those who undermine the public trust risk jail time in doing so.”
