Two men have been bound over to circuit court on charges related to the death of an inmate in Alger Correctional Facility.

Former Michigan Department of Corrections Sergeant Jason Denman and current MDOC officer Shawn Brinkman were bound over from 93rd District Court to 11th Circuit Court after a probable cause hearing on Wednesday, August 9 in the Alger County Courthouse. Denman and Brinkman were both facing one count of misconduct in office, a felony punishable by five years in prison.

Denman and Brinkman were the two officers transporting Alger Correctional Facility inmate Johnathan Lancaster when he died in 2019.

The two were the only ones to be charged with misconduct of office of the eight that were charged in relation to Lancaster’s death.

Former Acting Warden Scott Sprader, former Assistant Deputy Warden Benny Mercier, former MDOC nurses Paul Zelenak, Barbara Bedient, John Crane and Nathan Moser were charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter. Those six were separated from the other two for a separate probable cause hearing held last Wednesday and Thursday, Aug. 2-3. The hearing lasted the full two days, with 93rd District Court Judge Charlie Nebel see PRISON pg. 3 asking Michigan Attorney General’s Office attorney prosecuting the case and the six defense attorneys to provide the court with written closing arguments. According to district court staff, Nebel has not ruled on the six involuntary manslaughter charges before Thursday morning.