by P.D. Lesko

In July 2022, Derrick Jackson celebrated the County Commissioners’ award of $1.2 million in public money to non-profit Supreme Felons, Inc. According to documents, emails and text messages shared with A2Indy, the non-profit is secretly controlled by Derrick Jackson and Jackson’s employee Marvin Gundy. Felons, the public was led to believe by Sheriff Clayton, Jackson and County Commissioners at the time of the $1.2 award, are the answer to community violence in Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Twp. Supreme Felons Inc., Jackson has repeatedly told the public without any evidence to back up his claim, “save lives.” The Chair of the Washtenaw County Commissioners, Justin Hodge, has perroted Jackson’s rhetoric, as has State Senator Sue Shink. Shink’s vote to award Jackson’s front group $1.2 million almost lost her the 2022 election to serve in the State Senate.

Jackson’s continued assertions that felons (and not him) control Supreme Felons, Inc., and his claims about the importance of the work of Supreme Felons, Inc., have been repeatedly questioned by elected officials outside of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.

Since Jackson and Gundy put a murderer on parole and a sex offender convicted of child rape in charge of the group, Jackson has been quick to defend his professional support of, and association with, Supreme Felons, Inc.

Derrick Jackson has said publicly that anyone who questions the “work” of Supreme Felons, Inc. is on the “wrong side of history.” Jackson’s support of felons rather than their victims, harkens back to what a Washtenaw County Prosecutor said was Jackson’s public support of criminals over community safety.

The Supreme Felons, Inc. front group is yet another example of Derrick Jackson assuring public officials and the public about the trustworthiness and good character of felons whom he “mentors.”

In 2013, Sheriff’s Dept. Dir. of Community Engagement Derrick Jackson (a candidate for Sheriff in 2024) penned a letter to then Circuit Court judge David Swartz on behalf of 17-year-old Marquell D. Ganter. Ganter had fired a gun while fleeing the site of a crime. Without notifying the prosecution, or the deputies at whom Ganter had fired a gun, Jackson handed over the letter to Ganter’s family. He also sent his letter to Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge David Swartz prior to Ganter’s Oct. 31, 2013 sentencing, documents show. Ganter’s family members gave Jackson’s letter to the teenager’s defense lawyer.

A Letter That Blindsided the County Prosecutor

In Sept. 2013, 17-year-old Marquell D. Ganter faced sentencing on felony charges that included assaulting, resisting or obstructing a police officer, carrying a concealed weapon, unlawful driving away of an automobile, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and two counts of assault with intent to do bodily harm less than murder. Prior to the teen’s sentencing, Sheriff’s candidate Derrick Jackson’s letter assured the judge:

“In my role here at the Sheriff’s Office I come across many young people who are in need of direction and a mentor. However, there is only one young person that I have directly mentored and attempted to take under my wing, Marquell Ganter. … For the past three years I have spent a significant amount of time working one on one with him, focusing on getting him back into school, finding employment and staying out of trouble. Because of this relationship, I think I have a unique perspective on his character and the implications of what he did.”

Judge Swartz sentenced Ganter to serve a mandatory two years for a felony firearms count and from two years and 10 months to 10 years for the other counts. The sentence, according to Prosecutor Mackie, “upset the victims.”

Afterwards, then County Prosecutor Brian Mackie sent Derrick Jackson an email expressing his “disappointment” and outrage at having been blindsided by Jackson’s contact with Judge Swartz. Mackie also criticized Jackson’s lack of support for the county’s “victims of crime.” In his Nov. 4, 2013 email, Mackie pointed out that Jackson had written the letter on department letterhead in his capacity as an employee of the sheriff. He also questioned Jackson’s mentoring skills.

“I have to say that your mentoring was not very successful,” wrote Mackie. The Prosecutor zeroed in on Jackson’s statements in the letter to Judge Swartz about jail staff and inmates saying that Ganter didn’t belong in jail. Records show Mackie asked Jackson if “we should consult with inmates to determine who belongs in jail … .”

Jackson replied by email to Mackie at 11:19 p.m. Nov. 4, 2013: “…[T]hat my actions in some way take away from the safety of the community is a difficult notion to accept.”

One week later, Jackson apologized to Assistant Prosecutor John Vella: In a Nov. 11 email, Jackson said it was “unexplainable” and “idiotic” to have handed over the letter to Ganter’s family and defense attorney without telling Vella.

“I believe in what I do and how we do it, but in this instance there were some major missteps,” Jackson wrote.

Mackie in his Nov. 4, 2013 email to Jackson said, “I hope that he [Ganter] does well in life and that this crime was an aberration.”

It wasn’t.

Washtenaw County Trial Court and MDOC records show that Prosecutor Brian Mackie’s fears about Ganter were prescient, and his criticisms of Jackson’s profound lack of concern for victims of crime were justified.

Repeat Weapons Crimes + Distributing Drugs = Probation

Marquell D. Ganter was paroled from prison in Dec. 2019. Between Oct. 2020 and March 2021, Marquell D. Ganter was charged with 13 felonies, according to Trial Court records.

Prosecutor Eli Savit’s handling of these prosecutions was quite different than Mackie’s handling of Ganter’s 2013 prosecution and 2020 charging. Trial Court Judge Patrick J. Conlin, Jr.’s handling of the sentencing was more lenient than former Judge Swartz’s. Both the County Prosecutor and the judge repeatedly allowed a gun-toting, drug dealer on probation to continue his business in the community.

In Oct. 2020, Marquell Ganter was charged by County Prosecutor Brian Mackie for carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a weapon by a felon and for assaulting a police officer while resisting arrest. Records show that same month Judge Conlin was given a Habitual Offender Notice naming Marquell D. Ganter.

A repeat offender in Michigan could face an increase of 25% on the maximum sentence if charged with a second offense. A third offense could result in a 50% increase on the maximum sentence for that felony, and a fourth offense could result in double the maximum sentence listed for that crime.

In Michigan, the penalty for a felon possessing a weapon is five years in prison and fines of up to $5,000. Likewise, a concealed weapon conviction carries a penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

Repeat felony weapons charges (2013 and 2020) notwithstanding, Trial Court records show that Prosecutor Mackie gave Ganter a $5,000 personal recognizance bond in Oct. 2020.

Then, In Mar. 2021, Marquell Ganter was charged by Prosecutor Savit with three counts of distributing less than 50 grams of a controlled substance and three counts of possessing less than 50 grams of a controlled substance. Six felonies. Ganter was also charged with another three felonies: receiving and concealing a stolen car, another count of felony possession of less than 50 grams of a controlled substance and another count of distributing less than 50 grams of a controlled substance.

In Michigan, distributing under 50 grams of a controlled substance is punishable by up to four years in jail and $25,000 in fines. The penalty is the same for possession.

Savit recommended Ganter’s PR bond (from Mackie) be continued. Judge Conlin agreed and Derrick Jackson’s mentee—now a gun-toting, drug dealing felon—was returned to the local community to await his days in court.

In August 2021, prior to sentencing for the Mar. 2021 felonies, Prosecutor Savit dismissed the charges of receiving and concealing a stolen car and the charge of felony distribution of a controlled substance. Prosecutor Savit also dismissed both weapons charges levied by Mackie in Oct. 2020.

Marquell D. Ganter was not sentenced by Judge Conlin as a habitual offender in 2021 for any of the felonies with which he had been charged between Mar. and May 2021. Judge Conlin could not do so, because the 2020 weapons charges levied by Mackie had been dismissed by Savit.

In Aug. 2021, Judge Conlin accepted a guilty plea from Ganter on a total of three charges of felony possession of less than 50 grams of a controlled substance. The felony distribution charges were dropped. On the recommendation of Prosecutor Savit, Judge Conlin signed an order granting Marquell D. Ganter two years of probation to be served in the community.

In addition, Conlin ordered Ganter to pay $2,100 in restitution.

Judge Conlin’s 2021 sentence required Ganter to participate in a “peer-to-peer” mentoring program, such as the peer-to-peer mentoring program offered by Supreme Felons, Inc. That “peer-to-peer mentoring” has the public support of Derrick Jackson, Sheriff Jerry Clayton, Prosecutor Eli Savit and his Chief Asst. Prosecutor Victoria Burton-Harris. The now 23-year-old Ganter was also referred for a substance abuse assessment.

Then, in 2022, Marquell Ganter allegedly violated his probation. A Violation of Probation hearing was held on June 7, 2023, nine months after the Oct. 2022 Request and Summons was signed by Judge Conlin.

Cobbs = 14 Felonies x Repeat Charges for Distributing Drugs

A Cobbs Plea is an agreement with a judge for a cap on a potential sentence in exchange for a plea. A Cobbs Plea (plea agreement) often allows a criminal to avoid a harsh sentence on felony charges.

In April 2023, while on probation recommended by the County Prosecutor and granted by Trial Court Judge Patrick J. Conlin, Jr., and after having been charged with 13 felonies including weapons crimes, possessing and distributing less than 50 grams of a controlled substance, Prosecutor Savit charged Marquell D. Ganter for once again distributing less than 50 grams of a controlled substance.

Police had submitted the charges to the Prosecutor for authorization in Nov. 2022.

At the April 2023 hearing where Marquell D. Ganter was bound over for prosecution for allegedly distributing controlled substances (again), the County Prosecutor recommended to Judge Conlin that Ganter’s $5,000 personal recognizance bond be continued. Judge Conlin agreed.

On June 6, 2023, the Judge, the Prosecutor and Ganter’s attorney, Erica S. Julien, met and hammered out a Cobbs Agreement for the 14-time felon.

As of July 5, 2023, court records show that Derrick Jackson’s mentee, Marquell D. Ganter, still owned $1,932.80 in restitution and was subject to Court ordered collections for failure to “Pay Assessments and/or Failed to Abide by Payment Plan Agreement.”

In his letter to Judge Swartz in 2013, Derrick Jackson assured the judge, “Marquell is not a street-hardened young person destined for a criminal lifestyle. In fact, he is quite different than that…I do know the difference between someone with malice and someone that has made a horrible mistake. I’ve seen those inmates that ‘fit in’ to the jail culture and have worked with those that society would not like to see on our streets ever again. Marquell is neither.”

In his email to Jackson in 2013, Brian Mackie wrote, “The citizens of this county expect the Sheriff’s Office to protect the general public, and, especially the victims of the crime. You have shortchanged them….I am more than disappointed.”

In response, Jackson said in an email to Mackie, “As the Director of Community Engagement, I believe that informing the judge of his [Ganter] character…was an important fact in the decision that the criminal justice system in Washtenaw County had to make. That is my purpose in being here…my purpose in becoming an officer…and yes, my purpose in being a social worker.”

Derrick Jackson has a degree in social work from U-M, but state records show he has never had any licensure as a social worker in Michigan.

In 2013, Sheriff Clayton told a reporter: “I don’t think Derrick was trying to influence the (sentence). He just wanted the judge to get this other perspective. We’re all about holding folks accountable. But this is not a dismissal of the impact on victims and not a dismissal of (the deputies’) feelings. In fact, I think Derrick exercising the option of sending the letter was an appropriate thing to do.”

Local Attorney Doug Winters was quoted in 2013 as questioning why no one was made aware of Derrick Jackson’s letter to Judge Swartz ahead of time and called it a “sad and disgraceful day” at the Sheriff’s Office. Winters has spoken out repeatedly about Jackson and Clayton’s involvement with Supreme Felons, Inc.

“I find the decision to award the grant to Supreme Felons, Inc., and subsequent public defense of the award by the County Commissioners, “heart-breaking,” said Winters in an Oct. 2022 article published by The Ann Arbor Independent.  

Between Oct. 2022 and June 2023, Ganter’s Violation of Probation hearing was adjourned seven times at the request of either Ganter’s attorney or the Prosecutor’s office. Between Jan. and June 2023, Ganter’s Probation Violation hearing was reset by the Court seven times.

Court records show a Probation Violation hearing for Ganter is scheduled for Aug. 2, 2023.

Derrick Jackson was asked about his relationship with Marquell D. Ganter and whether he is still in touch with the young man whom he described as someone who did not pose a threat to the community. Jackson has not responded.