GENESEE COUNTY, MI — The man who police say was responsible for killing four worshippers and injuring eight others at a Grand Blanc Township church this week was dealing with methamphetamine addiction when he was arrested for a felony burglary of his parents’ home more than a decade ago, according to police records.
Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, who was fatally shot by police after driving a Chevy pickup into a wall at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, was arrested but never prosecuted for the 2011 crime, according to Genesee County and Michigan State Police records.
Law enforcement officials have said Sanford opened fire on the congregation and then set the church ablaze on Sunday, Sept. 28.
MLive-The Flint Journal obtained the 2011 report of his arrest from the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Sheriff Chris Swanson said on Wednesday, Oct. 1, that the criminal case against Sanford never advanced beyond the initial arrest — possibly because Sanford’s parents ultimately never pressed for a prosecution.
But the arrest report provides some insight into Stanford’s lingering troubles after he returned to Michigan from Utah, where a friend has said he began to use methamphetamines.
Among the details in the Oct. 5, 2011, police report:
Sanford’s parents — Thomas Lee Sanford and Brenda Kay Walters — contacted police after what they reported as a breaking and entering at their home in Atlas Township.
The couple said several items — including gold jewelry and more than $100 worth of change from a glass jar — had come up missing, and “they are positive that their son, Thomas Jacob Stanford (who goes by Jake), is the one that stole these items,” the report reads.
Sanford’s parents told police that their son had moved back to the area from Utah, where he developed a meth addition and had told them he was using K2, also known as synthetic marijuana.
Weeks before the burglary, Sanford’s parents first contacted a sheriff’s deputy, asking for the best path forward for their son, who had tried faith-based counseling and intervention without success.
“Both (parents said) that their son has been out of money and they have been rationing his money … and keeping track of his money ever since he got home in an attempt to keep him from spending it on drugs or some other substance that he shouldn’t be,” the report reads.
Among the jewelry items that had been removed from a small wooden box in a dresser drawer in the family home were his mother’s, father’s, and his own class rings.
“The Sanfords’ neighbor runs a pawn store and had recently been discussing the price of gold with Jake,” the police report reads.
When interviewed by police, Sanford denied having taken money from his parents’ home before he was asked if he had, according to the report.
When a deputy pointed out that he hadn’t mentioned that any money had been taken, Sanford said, “Well, I didn’t take any jewelry from my parents either,” the report reads.
Sanford continued to deny having taken items from the house until he was confronted by his father, the report says. He later acknowledged having taken $15 in quarters from the change jar, but said he had told his father about having taken the money.
“Neither (parent) recall him saying anything about taking money out of the change jar,” the report reads.
At the time of the incident, Sanford was living at another address with his sister, according to the report.
A deputy asked Sanford during an interview if he was under the influence of any substances, which he denied, “but during the course of the conversation (police) became aware of the fact that Jake had smoked some of this K2 substance … and may still be under the influence of (it),” the report reads.
Police then stopped the interview.
Sanford also has a prior criminal record in Utah, according to court records there.
He was arrested in Summit County, Utah, on March 12, 2010, with a blood-alcohol level of 0.18, on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to court records.
A not guilty plea was entered on Sanford’s behalf 12 days after his arrest.
He eventually pled guilty to an amended misdemeanor charge of impaired driving on June 29, 2010.
He was ordered to pay a $750 fine and to complete 48 hours of community service as well as an alcohol/substance abuse evaluation as part of his probation, according to court records.
Sanford completed his treatment on Nov. 2, 2010, according to the records, and his case was closed on Feb. 24, 2011.
Sanford grew up with his parents and an older sister in an Atlas Township home that was purchased from his maternal grandparents more than a decade before his 2011 arrest, according to property tax records.
For decades, Sanford’s father operated Thomas Sanford and Associates, a chimney installation and cleaning business that lists the same address as the home.
His father is listed on a 2016 marriage license as having officiated his son’s 2016 wedding with Tella Nicole-Ovidale Campbell of Flint.
The FBI, which is leading the investigation into the church attack, has yet to describe a motive for it and has revealed little about events leading to it.
Sanford had deep disdain for the Mormon faith, a religion that he repeatedly referred to as “the Antichrist,” according to Burton City Council candidate Kris Johns and friend, Peter Tersigni, who suspects untreated mental illness and previous methamphetamine use played a role in the rampage.