Chesterfield Township — A former Macomb County assistant prosecutor who went into private practice after being fired appeared in Macomb County courtrooms to defend clients even though there were outstanding arrest warrants against him for failing to show up to multiple court hearings in Benzie County, court records show.
After former county assistant prosecutor Joshua Van Laan was a no-show at an April 9 creditor’s examination in Beulah’s 85th District Court to determine his assets as part of a small claims dispute, District Judge John D. Mead issued a civil warrant for his arrest, according to Court Magistrate Lisa Kenner.
If police detain the 44-year-old Chesterfield Township resident before he turns himself in, it would mark his second arrest for skipping 85th District Court hearings. Van Laan was arrested in November when he failed to appear for an August hearing and was freed after paying a $100 bond, Kenner said.
When Van Laan failed to show for the hearing last month, Mead again ordered his arrest and upped the bond to $1,000, court records show. Two days later, Van Laan was in Macomb County Circuit Court to defend a client who’d been charged with a drug offense.
Van Laan, whose law office is in New Baltimore, did not return phone calls seeking comment. It’s unclear whether he was aware the second warrant had been authorized. Kenner said a subpoena was issued compelling him to appear at the creditor’s hearing under possible penalty of contempt of court, although she said nothing on the form warned an arrest was possible if he didn’t appear.
Van Laan got fired, sued Macomb Co. and lost
The trouble with the 85th District Court is the latest episode involving Van Laan, who was fired in 2022 after serving more than 10 years in the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutor Peter Lucido said Van Laan had helped with a coworker’s political campaign during work hours.
Van Laan filed a federal lawsuit in 2023 claiming he’d been fired in retaliation for reporting sexual harassment and gender, racial and disability discrimination at the prosecutor’s office. A year later, U.S. District Judge Judith Levy dismissed the lawsuit and lambasted Van Laan. In her ruling, Levy said the case had been marked with “failure to produce documents at the deposition … and complete dishonesty by either (Van Laan) or his counsel or both. It seems that both are involved.”
Lucido called Van Laan’s actions in the small claims court matter “an embarrassment to the legal profession.”
“He’s an officer of the court, and he’s walking into court with warrants out for his arrest? That’s the kind of thing that makes people question the criminal justice system,” Lucido said.
Two days after the latest bench warrant was issued, on April 8, Van Laan represented Wylliam Glyn-Lee Allen during his arraignment in Sterling Heights’ 41-A District Court on charges of delivery/manufacturing of drugs less than 50 grams. Van Laan also represented Glyn-Lee Allen when the case was bound over for trial on April 24, according to court records.
Van Laan is scheduled to appear at 1:30 p.m. Monday before Macomb County Circuit Judge Julie Gatti for a status conference in the case. The judge’s secretary said Friday she was out of town and unavailable for comment.
It was unclear Friday which agency arrested Van Laan in November. Officials from Chesterfield Township Police and the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office said they didn’t arrest him, while Michigan State Police online records show he wasn’t booked for a crime in the state.
What Van Laan is accused of in Benzie County small claims court
In the small claims matter, Honor, Mich. resident Dennis Rodzik accused Van Laan of failing to do any work after the attorney had been retained to sue a former political candidate. Rodzik, a former Honor Village president, is a longtime circulator who helps get candidates and initiatives onto ballots. Rodzik took Van Laan to court in June 2025, court records show.
“One of my clients failed to pay me the amount we’d contracted for, but (Van Laan) didn’t do anything, so I took him to small claims court,” said Rodzik, who said the first political campaign he worked on was getting Michigan’s deposit bottle initiative, dubbed the “Bottle Bill,” passed in 1976.
“Well, (Van Laan) didn’t show up, so I won my case,” Rodzik said.
Following the default judgment, Van Laan logged into a Jan. 26 Zoom meeting that Rodzik didn’t attend, Kenner said.
“The defendant told the judge that the amount owed ($2,500) was paid in full, but the plaintiff said he hadn’t received a penny,” Kenner said.
The judge set a creditor’s examination hearing to determine Van Laan’s assets. It was postponed multiple times until Aug. 25. When Van Laan failed to appear, the judge issued the first bench warrant against the attorney.
“The warrant was recalled Nov. 19, 2025, and (Van Laan) posted $100 bond,” Kenner said.
Between Aug. 25 and Nov. 19, 2025, with the arrest warrant against him outstanding, Van Laan appeared several times in Macomb County Circuit Court to defend three clients, court records show.
In the small claims matter, after the first warrant against Van Laan was recalled, the creditor’s exam was again rescheduled for March 16, although it was postponed because of inclement weather, Kenner said.
“The hearing was set for April 6 of this year, and when (Van Laan) failed to appear, another bench warrant was issued,” Kenner said.
Macomb County officials alerted to arrest warrant
Rodzik said he alerted police in Chesterfield Township, along with the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office and Macomb County Sheriff’s Office that a warrant had been issued for Van Laan’s arrest.
“That’s how I did it the first time; I went to the county sheriff up here (in Benzie County) to ask if they could call downstate to put out an alert,” Rodzik said. “I’ve also called the courts in the area to be on the lookout for him.
“He’s still practicing law with an arrest warrant out for him,” Rodzik said. “I don’t understand how someone can do that. Maybe they’ll pick him up while he’s in court; the deputies are right there.”
ghunter@detroitnews.com
(313) 222-2134
@GeorgeHunter_DN
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Ex-prosecutor defends clients in Macomb Co. as judge seeks his arrest
Reporting by George Hunter, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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