Court Watching: Jury finds Nelson Po not guilty of disturbing work at Atchinson Ford

On Friday, a 34th District Court jury deliberated an hour before finding Nelson Po of Sumpter Township not guilty of the misdemeanor of molesting and disturbing a worker at Atchinson Ford two years ago.
“The trial was pure politics,” said Po’s attorney Ronald Ruark after the verdict. “Donald Swinson and Sumpter Township used the court to accomplish a political goal. Swinson’s testimony confirmed this. Nelson now needs to decide whether to sue Donald Swinson for Abuse of Process.”
Sumpter Township Trustee Don Swinson was the only witness brought to testify by Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Phebie Longnecker.
Swinson testified that on Oct. 29, 2015 he was at work as a salesman at his desk at Atchinson Ford car dealership, 9800 Belleville Road, Van Buren Township, where he has worked for 20 years.
He said he had known Nelson Po for years, since he lives next door to his parents.
Swinson testified that he was on the phone with a customer when Po came into the showroom and started pacing back and forth in front of his desk. When he got off the phone, Swinson said Po told him, “You tell your dad … I’m going to sue him and burn his house down.”
Swinson said he didn’t know how to do the video on his phone, but he had his audio down and he started recording the discussion. Swinson said Po pointed his finger at him and said, “You tell your dad. You tell your dad,” an arm’s length away at the other side of his desk.
“I asked if he was threatening me to get to my father,” Swinson said. “I had no place to go. My back was against the wall.”
He tesified since this happened two years ago, he doesn’t remember everything that was said, so Prosecutor Longnecker provided him with VBT Police Officer Mike Long’s police report to refresh his memory.
Swinson said Po claimed his dad ruined his business.
“I called the Sumpter Township attorney. The first person I called. Then I called Van Buren Township police,” Swinson said, referring to after Po left.
“I wanted to know what I should do,” he said as the reason he called attorney Rob Young, noting he was a trustee on the township board.
Judge Tina Brooks Green, who was presiding at the trial, clarified Swinson’s remarks, asking if because of his position in Sumpter Township and the conflict between Po and Sumpter Township, he called the township attorney, and Swinson said that was so.
“There was a bust at his place before this,” Swinson said.
“And, your dad was a witness?” Judge Green asked.
“I believe so,” Swinson replied.
When Po was done talking, he walked out the door, Swinson said.
“He was done with what he had to say … including my father was ruining his business … he was growing marijuana.”
Defense attorney Ruark asked about the recording.
“I emailed the audio to Officer Long. I didn’t alter it. I could barely turn it on,” Swinson said.
VBT Police Officer Mark Buxton played about two minutes of audio to the jury, who all huddled around the laptop, trying to hear. Then, it was replayed for Swinson to refresh his memory. Judge Green and the audience did not hear the recording.
Swinson identified the audio and said Po spent less than five minutes there, maybe 10 minutes with all the pacing.
“He said he was going to sue my dad for $10 million and to be prepared. I told him it was a township matter and I was going to call Rob Young. I wasn’t involved in it, but knew about it,” Swinson said. He said he was nervous and scared because nothing like that had happened to him before at work. “I called the attorney, police, and then my father.”
Ruark cross-examined the witness and asked if Po brandished any weapons, threatened physical harm or threatened to harm his father physically, and Swinson said, “No.” He asked if his father appeared to be threatened and Swinson said he didn’t remember. No Personal Protection Order was filed against Po, Swinson said.
Swinson said when he regularly calls his father he always asks how things are going and they didn’t dwell on Po’s appearance at his job. He said one day his father told him he saw Po pointing at his father’s fence.
“The same fence where your father pointed a gun at Mr. Po?” Ruark asked and Swinson said it was. “And, your father was prosecuted?” Ruark asked and Swinson agreed he had been. He agreed Po and his father had been friends.
Ruark said, according to the recording, Po said he planned to sue Swinson’s father for $10 million, get the house, and burn it down.
“He said he would sue first,” Swinson agreed.
Ruark pointed out Po waited until he finished talking to a customer on the phone and Swinson never asked Po to leave or call a manager to get him to leave. No voices were raised during the conversation recorded.
Swinson agreed there was an ongoing dispute on marijuana with Po.
“Many township trustees oppose Mr. Po,” Ruark said and Swinson replied, “They’re just doing their job.
“The township has taken a lot of time to deal with Mr. Po and his operation?” Ruark asked and Swinson said that was so.
“Your first instinct was to call the attorney because this was more important to the township than your father,” Ruark stated.
Swinson said Po wasn’t going to go right over and burn the house.
Ruark said Po sued Swinson for filing a false police report and Swinson agreed, noting the suit was dropped. Ruark said Po sued Swinson’s father and there is a continual dispute.
When Ruark asked about the effect on Swinson’s day, Swinson said it had a mental effect on him and he doesn’t remember if it altered his work performance.
Ruark asked if he ever talks about township business at work and Swinson said sometimes people from the township come in and they discuss an upcoming agenda item or meeting.
Ruark asked how long he knew about Po’s grow operation and he said he didn’t know, but on the day Po came into his workplace, he knew Po had a grow operation.
“Was it commercial?” asked Ruark and Swinson said he asked Po that question.
Swinson was excused from the stand and the prosecutor and defense attorney gave their closing arguments.
In his closing remarks, Ruark warned the jury that their decision could lead to the idea that anytime anyone issues a threat, that person should be prosecuted.
“Prosecutors are forever saying, ‘You are the people. You have to decide.’ ” Ruark said. “Do we want to invite the government into our lives whenever someone feels uneasy? ‘I’m going to kick your ass … I’m going to report you to the union’ … those are all threats. If that’s the kind of society you want to live in, find him guilty.”
Ruark said basically Po said, “I’m going to sue your father.” Burning his house down is not a credible threat, Ruark said, because who would throw away a couple hundred thousand dollars?
“It was really township business at the root of all this,” Ruark said. “There was no strong evidence he was really intimidated … He was feeling uneasy.”
Ruark said the ramifacations were for Sumpter Township and they should send it back to the township to deal with it, not this court of law.
About half way through the hour-long jury deliberations, the jury asked to hear the audio recording again, so they returned to the courtroom and again crowded around the laptop as Officer Buxton played the sound.
After the not-guilty verdict was read by jury foreman Samantha Mall, who is a college student, two of the jurors took time to talk to the prosecutor and defense attorney about the decision.
Jurors Sherry Hester and Shirley Kennedy Miller pointed out that Po didn’t threaten to burn the house, but to sue, buy the house, and then burn it down.
They also didn’t like it that Swinson tried to get more information from Po for the township legal action.
Theresa Davenport, who was a member of the jury pool and chosen in the first draw to be on the jury, was excused for cause by Judge Green, who noted Davenport’s statement that she knew Po because her family’s company did work for him.
The seven-member jury that heard the case was reduced to six with a blind draw at the end of the testimony and Kim Capcun, a barista at the Belleville Road Starbucks, was excused.
This misdemeanor case was postponed at district court until after Wayne County Circuit Court cases between Po and Sumpter Township were settled. On Oct. 17 the cases had a “global settlement” in Judge David J. Allen’s courtroom, although the details are yet to be completely agreed upon, written down, and signed by everyone involved. Attorneys may have to go back to Judge Allen’s courtroom to complete the settlement.