Local Business Owner Charged with Violating Executive Order

MIDLAND, Mich. — Jimmy Sheets, the owner of High Definition Detailing, is being charged in 75th District Court for allegedly violating Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the City Paper has learned.

Mr. Sheets is the only local person being charged with violating the order, which requires “non-essential” businesses to close and prohibits private gatherings. A violation of the Executive Order is a misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a fine of $500. High Definition Detailing is known mostly for its work on high-performance and luxury vehicles, working on detailing, paint restoration, and window tinting among other services.

City Attorney James O. Branson III sent Mr. Sheets a warning letter, which said the business would need to cease operations and close. Mr. Branson later referred the matter to Midland County Prosecutor J. Dee Brooks

“This shall serve a your final notice to cease all business operations until such time that Executive Order 2020-21 has been rescinded or amended to allow your business to operate legally, or, in the alternative, until such time that Governor Whitmer has issued any other such Executive Order which allows your business operation to resume business,” the letter reads.

Mr. Branson referred questions from the City Paper to Mr. Brooks.

In a public post on Facebook, which has since been deleted, Mr. Sheets said that his business was, among other things, helping to sanitize the vehicles of health care workers. Mr. Sheets declined to comment on-the-record to the City Paper, preferring to speak through his attorney. He is being represented by Brian H. Jean from Triton Legal PLC.

“Mr. Sheets had been operating his business in the best interests of the community in light of the somewhat nebulous Executive Order. While the Governor’s Order didn’t enumerate vehicle cleaning services as essential, our client had been operating to assist front line workers in sanitation of their vehicles. That process allowed nurses and physicians to continue to utilize their vehicles for their employment without the worry of spreading the virus to their loved ones, or their community,” Mr. Jean told the City Paper. “Through a special process, Mr. Sheets’ service was able to apply a chemical that neutralizes the virus in his clients’ vehicles for over a month. It was at the outset, and will remain our position, that this service was specialized and essential for the clients that were being served.”

Mr. Brooks disagrees.

“While cleaning or sanitizing actual first responder vehicles could be consider ‘critical infrastructure’ work, the cleaning of privately owned vehicles is not considered an essential service under the governor’s orders,” he told the City Paper.

Mr. Brooks says that the operation of any non-essential business under the Executive Order is illegal.

“The only exception is for a person or business who can conduct all their operations remotely. This would not allow, for instance, persons to travel to and from the business (or a home), or for the business to travel to and from a customer’s location, to provide any service ‘not necessary to sustain or protect life,'” Mr. Brooks told the City Paper.

High Definition Detailing and Triton Legal PLC are community partners with the City Paper. Please read our Editorial Independence Policy to see how our sponsors, donors, and advertisers never influence our journalism. Mr. Jean serves on the City Paper’s Board of Directors.

Ms. Whitmer’s COVID-19 Executive Orders have come under fire and drawn protests recently regarding the proper balance between emergency situations and the rights to associate and assemble.

“These are extremely difficult times that, unfortunately, call for extreme measures to protect the public health, which is my top priority as Prosecuting Attorney,” Mr. Brooks told the City Paper. “Law enforcement does not take any enjoyment in having to enforce these orders, but we are doing the best we can under the circumstances.”

Mr. Jean says that High Definition Detailing was never open to the public, during the pandemic.

“Mr. Sheets’ company complied at all times with policies implemented by the CDC. Our client’s business was not open to the public. All interaction with customers was completely touchless; no personal interactions occurred. Adequate social distancing and PPE equipment was always a top priority,” Mr. Jean told the City Paper.

Officers from the Midland Police Department were reportedly taking license plate information from vehicles in the High Definition Detailing parking lot, and contacting owners with questions about services procured. Mr. Brooks would not directly confirm those reports, but he said any investigation so far has been routine.

“The investigation into any criminal complaint would include contacting potential witnesses who may have knowledge about the alleged activities involved in the case,” he told the City Paper.

Mr. Sheets’ arraignment is scheduled for June 3. Mr. Jean told the City Paper that Mr. Sheets plans to enter a plea of not guilty.

“There is no question that during ordinary times, the governor would not have the authority to make these executive orders. But during a public health emergency, as has been declared in Michigan (and pretty much worldwide), Michigan law gives the governor special powers to act in the public interest,” Mr. Brooks told the City Paper.

This article has been updated to include additional comments from Mr. Sheets’ lawyer, Mr. Jean.

Michael Westendorf

Michael Westendorf is the chairman and executive editor of Chemical City Paper. As Executive Editor, he leads the City Paper’s news coverage and editorial team.