Ex-prosecutor to face criminal charges

Former state prosecutor Brian Kolodziej, who resigned amid a revelation he had a relationship with a victim in a sexual assault case, now faces criminal charges.

Kolodziej of Clinton Township will face two felony counts of misconduct in office for his conduct in the Isabella County case, Kent County Prosecutor Attorney Chris Becker, the special prosecutor in the matter, revealed in a press conference Thursday. An arraignment date was not immediately available.

Kolodziej, who was hired in September 2018 under former Attorney General Bill Schuette, was put on administrative leave last fall when the reported relationship came to light, and then resigned. The AG’s office launched an investigation into all his cases.

The woman in the reported relationship was a victim of Ian Elliott, a Central Michigan University student, who had been charged in connection to a sexual assault case involving two women in 2016.

After the revelation, the attorney general’s office offered Elliott a lower charge in the case. He pleaded no contest to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, court records show.

Ice fisherman drowns in U.P. lake

LAKE TOWNSHIP – A man eager to fish after seeing others at an Upper Peninsula lake apparently fell through the ice and drowned, authorities said.

The body of Lon Harrand, 67, of Stephenson was recovered at Shakey Lakes in Menominee County’s Lake Township. Harrand stopped at the campground Thursday and saw people fishing. He went home to get his ice gear.

“He never returned home in the evening. He did not answer calls on his cellphone,” the sheriff ’s office said.