SEVEN ARRESTED IN CHILD SEX STING
Five of seven from Isabella County, including three from Mt. Pleasant
Seven men — five from Isabella County — were arrested Thursday in a child sex sting in which local law enforcement officers pretended to be underage boys and girls.
The seven are accused of communicating with the decoys on various social media apps and arranging to meet up for sexual encounters, according to a press release from the Isabella County Sheriff’s Office.
Once the men arrived at the location — not identified in the press release — they were arrested.
Five were arrested at the scene without incident, the press release said.
Two arrived at the location but attempted to leave. Police stopped one and arrested him without incident. The other attempted to flee and crashed into a parked, empty car. In addition to being arrested for crimes related to the sting, he was arrested for attempting to flee from police.
The seven, who haven’t been formally charged, were identified in the press release as: William Machuta, 32, of Mt. Pleasant; Zachery Bell, 25, of Mt. Pleasant; Cody Bunner, 22, of Mt. Pleasant; Dwayne Overton, 21, of Union Township; John Guernsey, 50, of Chippewa Township; Brent Hulien, 34, of Standish; and Andrew Cousar, 29, of Grand Rapids.
The sting was the work of a task force of law enforcement agencies in Isabella, Mecosta, Montcalm, Newaygo and Osceola counties, the press release said. In addition, they were assisted by Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Michigan State Police analytics team, two regional drug agencies, Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police, Mt. Pleasant city police, Central Michigan University police, Shepherd police and Isabella County Central Dispatch.
“The entire event takes several days to prepare and plan,” said Sheriff Michael Main in the press release. “The day of the event runs for multiple hours involving over 30 law enforcement and support personnel.”