Monroe County sheriff's detective honored for work on dog-poisoning case
An investigation into a dog's poisoning that led to a conviction has earned a Monroe County Sheriff's Office detective recognition from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Detective Patrick Davison recently was presented with Whitmer’s challenge coin to recognize his work on the case involving the poisoning of a local dog named Rocky, Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough announced.
Rocky belonged to a Milan couple. On April 5, 2021, they found him seizing underneath the porch in their backyard with something blue surrounding his mouth. In the 10 minutes it took them to rush him to the veterinarian, he died. He was almost 4 years old.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) began the investigation into Rocky's death, a news release from the sheriff's office said. Interviews with Rocky’s owner provided reason to believe that a neighbor was responsible for Rocky’s death, but the evidence was circumstantial.
More:Toxic pesticide leads to death of Milan woman's dog
MDARD Inspector Lauren Young contacted Davison and explained the situation and evidence obtained, the release said. The blue-colored residue found around Rocky's mouth was tested by the MDARD lab and determined to be methomyl insecticide, the same substance found in the dog’s stomach and determined to be the cause of death. However, Young’s evidence needed to be tied to the person who placed the poison for the dog to consume. A suspect was interviewed by Young and Davison, and while the suspect’s body language and verbal statements seemed suspicious, he maintained his innocence, saying that he had nothing to do with the poisoning.
Young then identified local retail stores that might sell methomyl products. She and Davison set out to contact these stores, the release said. Eventually using the power of a subpoena, Davison obtained customer rewards information from a local retailer showing that the suspect purchased a brand of insecticide that contains methomyl using a credit card in his name.
Davison set up a suspect interview at the sheriff’s office. Not realizing how much evidence they already had, the suspect willingly arrived for the meeting, the release said. Young and Davison conducted the interview, getting the suspect to acknowledge that he had a customer rewards account at a local retail store. The suspect then acknowledged that he did not give his credit card to anyone else to use and that the credit card number associated with the customer rewards purchase was his own. He eventually admitted to purchasing the insecticide and misusing it. He pleaded guilty in court and was sentenced successfully, concluding the investigation.
"This successful conclusion would not have been possible without the teamwork and cooperation of both agencies," the release said.
This case changed Michigan law on how methomyl insecticides are sold to the public, the release said.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Monroe County sheriff's detective honored for work on dog-poisoning case
