Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
TWO IRON County men face felony charges in connection with the vandalism of a county owned excavator last month, above. Matthew R. Christoferson, 19, of Saxon and Jeffrey John Franzoi, 20, of Hurley, are each charged with one count of felony criminal damage to property as authorities allege the two shot at the machine.
By RICHARD JENKINS
Hurley - Two Iron County men have been charged in connection to the vandalism of an Iron County Forestry Department excavator in June.
Matthew R. Christoferson, 19, of Saxon and Jeffrey John Franzoi, 20, of Hurley, are each charged with one count of felony criminal damage to property - a Class I felony that carries a potential maximum sentence of 42 months in jail and/or up to a $10,000 fine.
The Iron County Sheriff's Department received a report June 12 from a forestry department employee the excavator appeared to have been shot multiple times while it was at the county's Freburg Road gravel pit in the town of Saxon, according to Tuesday's criminal complaints.
Deputy Jason Geach "observed and photographed multiple bullet holes in the cab area and motor housing of the unit. Three of the four windows of the cab were broken," the complaints reads.
Geach also recovered .223 bullet casings from where the shots appeared to be fired from, according to the complaints.
Following the Forestry Department offering a reward for information on its Facebook page; the complaint said the ICSD received several tips alleging Christoferson had been "doing a lot of shooting around the Saxon area."
When interviewed, the complaints said Christoferson acknowledged he and Franzoi had been shooting Franzoi's .223 gun in the pit the weekend the excavator was damaged but repeatedly denied seeing or shooting the machine.
Franzoi also acknowledged shooting in the pit, according to the complaint, but also denied having any knowledge of who shot the excavator.
The complaints allege Christoferson admitted in a later interview Franzoi accidentally shot one of the windows. Franzoi also later acknowledged both he and Chrisoferson had shot the excavator, according to the complaints, but said he was shooting at the berm in front of it and didn't mean to shoot the machine. He was unsure if Christoferson was aiming for the excavator, according to the release.
The complaints list the latest repair total at $2,952.
The next court date is scheduled for Aug. 28.
