One defendant agrees to testify against the other in torture case
A woman has pleaded guilty to helping a man allegedly torture a woman they believed may have been a police informant during a motion hearing Monday.
Jolynn Hirsch, who was charged alongside Aaron Schoenrock with multiple felonies in May, agreed to plead guilty and testify against Schoenrock during his trial.
In exchange, Hirsch's charges were reduced to a single count of assault with intent to do bodily harm less than murder, punishable with up to 10 years in prison. Hirsch was previously charged with torture, unlawful imprisonment and two counts of felony firearm possession.
As part of her plea deal, Hirsch admitted to St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Damman that she helped Schoenrock torture a woman they suspected was cooperating with a drug investigation by law enforcement into Schoenrock.
Hirsch said Schoenrock became suspicious of the victim and another man after they were stopped by police in traffic. She said Schoenrock imprisoned the victim at a residence in Marysville and beat her for hours. She said she saw Schoenrock burn the victim with a torch and stab her in the legs.
At some point Schoenrock reportedly told Hirsch to retrieve a gun.
"Were you aware of what he may do with that firearm, because he had beaten you with it?" defense attorney Lisa Dwyer asked Hirsch.
"Yes," Hirsch answered back.
Hirsch said she was afraid of Schoenrock because he had beaten her in the past. She also admitted to retrieving a chainsaw she said Schoenrock used to threaten the victim.
Hirsch also admitted she would sometimes spy on the victim at Schoenrock's request, going to the victim's residence to see if she was there.
After Schoenrock was arrested for stabbing a man in Port Huron, Hirsch said Schoenrock called her from jail and told her to dispose of evidence at the Marysville residence.
Because a plea deal was reached, Dwyer withdrew her previous motion to sever Hirsch's case from Schoenrock's.
St. Clair County Assistant Prosecutor Joshua Sparling told the court he had not offered a plea deal to Schoenrock and was less inclined to after securing Hirsch's testimony. He told the court a plea deal would probably involve a minimum sentence of 22-and-a-half years, which Schoenrock's attorneys said they would not accept.
Both sides said they expected Schoenrock's case to go to trial. The defense withdrew its motion to compel, with defense attorney Samantha Baker saying they had sorted out the discovery issues with Sparling.
Scheonrock has been charged with 10 felonies including torture, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, assault with intent to murder, first-degree home invasion, unlawful imprisonment, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon, and three counts of possession of felony firearm possession.
Shoenrock's trial is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Nov. 7. Hirsch is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. on Dec. 4.
Contact Johnathan Hogan at jhogan@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: One defendant agrees to testify against the other in torture case
