By Attorney General Dana Nessel
LANSING – Former Lincoln Township Police Department Detective Lieutenant Johnathan Chase, 54, of Stevensville, pled no contest to falsifying salvage vehicle inspections, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Chase pled to one count of Misconduct in Office and one count of False Certification.
“We trust law enforcement to protect our communities, not misuse their authority,” said Attorney General Nessel. “By falsifying these inspections, this officer put unverified vehicles on our roads and jeopardized public safety. I am proud of the FORCE Team and the Michigan State Police for securing this conviction and holding him accountable.”
Salvage vehicle inspections are conducted to ensure that vehicles extensively damaged or reconstructed with parts from other sources are safe and that their components are not traced to stolen vehicles. Officers performing these inspections must certify the origin of all parts. Chase, who was the sole officer responsible for salvage vehicle certifications within the Lincoln Township Police Department, submitted multiple falsified salvage inspection forms to the Michigan Department of State.
The Michigan State Police Southwest Commercial Auto Recovery Team (SCAR) investigated this matter and referred the case to the Department of Attorney General’s Focused Organized Retail Crime Enforcement (FORCE) Team. Chase was charged in October 2025.
Chase is scheduled to be sentenced on August 10 at 1:30 p.m. before Judge Arthur J. Cotter of the 2nd Circuit Court in Berrien County.
The FORCE Team was established in January 2023 by the Attorney General to target criminal organizations that steal products from retailers to repackage and sell for a profit. Two assistant attorneys general serve the unit full time, working with special agents within the Department of Attorney General and Michigan State Police detectives to investigate and prosecute these crimes. The FORCE team also partners with the FBI’s Detroit Fraud and Financial Crimes Task Force and the Postal Inspection Service. This is a first-in-the-nation unit, unique in the 50 states as being the first such unit with embedded, dedicated staff from the Department of Attorney General.
The FORCE Team is dedicated to working collaboratively with retailers and local law enforcement agencies to combat organized retail crime. Recent corporate partners on investigations have included Sam’s Club/Walmart, Meijer, Target, Home Depot, TJ Maxx, Rite-Aid, Lululemon, Ulta Beauty, Amazon, and Lowe’s.