“Investigating Officer:” Upper Peninsula officer about to be charged by feds – Baraga County Case

 

Federal Defense Attorney in Marquette asks to stop representing an “investigating officer” who is the target of federal probe apparently in Baraga County

By Greg Peterson
Upper Peninsula Breaking News
News Director/Co-Owner
906-273-2433

**Editor’s Note: If you have any information on the “investigating officer” inthis story and/or what agency he did/or does represent – Marshall Thomas – please call or contact U.P. Breaking News

(Marquette, MI) – Shocking paperwork was filed in federal court in Marquette today that indicates an “investigating officer” in the U.P. is about to be charged with a felony crime by federal prosecutors.

In fact, the federal paperwork already describes the officer s a defendant – although no formal charges have been released publicly.

41-year-old Marshall Dion Thomas of L’Anse, Michigan appears to be the target of a federal investigation. U.P. Breaking News is compiling information on other possible targets of the case.

In a rare move today, Wed., Nov. 15, 2017, the U.S. Public Defenders Office today officially requested to no longer represent Thomas “in a pre-charged” federal criminal case. Thomas has listed past addresses in Pelkie, MI; Cincinnati, OH; and Williston, ND, according to several websites.

In asking to no longer represent Thomas, the top federal court-appointed defense attorney in northern Michigan filed a motion to allow Assistant Federal Public Defender Elizabeth A. LaCosse to withdraw from the case. The motion is not being opposed by federal prosecutors.

Today, Asst. U.S,. Attorney Maarten Vermaat filed paperwork with the court to confirm his office has no opposition to the federal public defenders office pulling from the criminal case. U.P. Breaking News first learned of the case last week but have been unable to confirm the nature of the pending criminal charges.

Public defender LaCosse “was recently appointed to represent Mr. Thomas’ interests in a pre-charged matter,” the motion to withdraw as defense attorney states. U.. Magistrate Judge Timothy P. Greeley has been hearing arguments in the matter.

It was filed on behalf of LaCosse by Sharon A. Turek – the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Michigan – that encompasses all of the U.P. and half of the lower Peninsula.
“Since being appointed, counsel’s only contact with Mr. Thomas has been a meeting
to discuss the issue of her office’s conflict in representing him,” the motion states. “An attorney/client relationship has not been established.”

“Because Mr. Thomas is an investigating officer in a case where Ms. LaCosse is
appointed as counsel, she has good reason to believe that a conflict of interest exists in her continuing representation of Mr. Thomas and that it would be in his best interest for a substitute attorney to be appointed to represent his interests in this matter.”
“Assistant Federal Public Defender Elizabeth A. LaCosse, respectfully
requests that this Honorable Court enter an order granting her permission to withdraw as counsel in this matter and appoint substitute counsel from the CJA Panel in Grand Rapids for the Defendant.”