Maxwell Wyckoff, a 22-year-old Clarkston man, known to be a member of the Wolverine Watchmen group, has been sentenced for charges determined to be unrelated to an alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer earlier this year.
Wyckoff pleaded guilty back on May 18 to converting a semiautomatic weapon to an automatic weapon and possessing a muffler or silencer device. Oakland County Judge Jeffery Matis sentenced Wyckoff on June 29, but the court wouldn’t disclose the details, citing the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, under which Wyckoff was sentenced.
The HYTA states, “If an individual pleads guilty to a criminal offense, committed on or after the individual’s 17th birthday but before his or her 24th birthday, the court of record having jurisdiction of the criminal offense may, without entering a judgment of conviction and with the consent of that individual, consider and assign that individual to the status of youthful trainee.”
According to a grabellaw.com, a Michigan criminals lawyers website, “Thus, individuals aged between 17 and 24 at the time they commit a criminal offense can be given the opportunity to take responsibility for their actions and complete the youthful trainee probationary term successfully. If the youth completes the probationary term a criminal conviction will not be entered on the individual’s record. To take advantage of Holmes ‘status,’ an individual must plead guilty to the charge.”
However, local media reports reported Wyckoff was ordered to serve four months in the Oakland County Jail followed by 12 months’ probation, including a 90-day curfew upon his release from jail.
With his plea, Wyckoff entered into a deal with prosecutors, agreeing to aid in an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, which had given preliminary consent to sentencing under the aforementioned HYTA.
Wyckoff had faced up to four years in prison and a $2,000 fine on the weapons charge and five years in prison or a $2,500 fine on the muffler/silencer charge, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
The Attorney General’s office stated Wyckoff wasn’t accused of being involved in supporting the alleged Whitmer kidnapping plot, which ended in the arrest of eight other Wolverine Watchmen members.
Instead, Wycoff was charged after authorities searched his home on Main Street as part of the investigation into Wolverine Watchmen members.