A former Berrien County police officer has pleaded no contest to charges he falsified salvage vehicle inspections, officials said.
Johnathan Chase entered the plea in the 2nd Circuit Court in Berrien County last week, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
The 54-year-old pleaded no contest to a count of misconduct in office and a count of false certification. In Michigan, judges treat no-contest pleas as if they were guilty pleas.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 10, and faces up to five years in prison for misconduct in office and up to five years for false certification.
His attorney was not immediately available for comment on Monday.
“We trust law enforcement to protect our communities, not misuse their authority,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement on Thursday. ” By falsifying these inspections, this officer put unverified vehicles on our roads and jeopardized public safety.”
How the charges emerged
Authorities alleged Chase submitted multiple falsified forms for salvage vehicle certifications through the Lincoln Township Police Department to the state while he was a salvage vehicle inspector.
The inspections are conducted to ensure vehicles extensively damaged or reconstructed with parts from other sources are safe and that their components are not traced to stolen vehicles. Officers who perform the inspections must certify the origin of all parts.
Prosecutors said Chase, a detective lieutenant with the Lincoln Township Police Department, was the agency’s sole salvage vehicle inspector.
Township police added that he performed the inspections as supplemental employment and when he was off duty as an officer. They said the township’s department no longer participates in the salvage vehicle program.
The case was investigated by the Michigan State Police, which referred the matter to the attorney general’s Focused Organized Retail Crime Enforcement Team. The task force, established in January 2023, targets criminal organizations that steal products from retailers to repackage and sell.
In October 2025, the state attorney general’s office charged the Stevensville resident, who retired from the township’s police department in May 2024.
He was initially charged with eight counts of false certification, two counts of using a computer to commit a crime, a seven-year felony, and a count of misconduct in office.
Other police misconduct cases
Chase is among Michigan law enforcement officers recently accused of misconduct in office.
Last week, a former Detroit police officer convicted of sending explicit photos of a woman to himself without her permission was sentenced to two years of probation followed by six months in jail.
A jury last week found a former Warren police officer not guilty of killing two men in a crash while driving over 100 mph on his way to try to intercept a stolen car.
Last month, a former Melvindale police officer convicted of using excessive force during two traffic stops in 2024 was sentenced to six months in jail.
cramirez@detroitnews.com
@CharlesERamirez
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan ex-cop pleads no contest to falsifying vehicle inspections
Reporting by Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
