Drunken “Karen” Jail Guard in Michigan Invades Former Home, Demands to Speak to Prosecutor When Cops Arrive
After a 20-year veteran guard at Michigan’s Bay County Jail was caught drunk in the wrong home in July 2023, he tried to exert his privilege by demanding to speak to the county prosecutor when police arrived. They ignored him, though, so Sgt. Lester A. Cousineau, Jr., 48, appeared in court on October 2, 2023, for sentencing on one count of entry without permission.
The incident unfolded on July 14, 2023, when Cousineau apparently stocked up on Burger King and booze before he drove home and passed out in the living room recliner.
Except, it wasn’t his home anymore.
Jimmy Duncan, who has owned the home for eight years, was out. A teenage house-sitter who found burger wrappers on the floor saw the stranger snoozing in the recliner. He then ran to the basement for a hammer and called Duncan, who called 911.
Police responded and briefly detained the hammer-holding teen before Duncan’s son arrived. He identified Cousineau as the home’s former owner and said he has a drinking problem. Cops ordered the guard outside, but he retreated deeper into the home. Eventually he returned to the recliner, where he was found passed out yet again.
Once handcuffed and placed in a police patrol vehicle, Cousineau began banging on the car and shouting, “I want to speak with Curt the prosecutor now”—apparently a reference to Arenac County Prosecutor Curtis G. Broughton. Like those self-important internet “Karens” reviled for demanding to speak to a manager, Cousineau was justly ignored. Instead cops noted that he asked, “Where am I? Why are you here? How did I get here?”
At the Arenac County Jail, his blood alcohol content was measured at 0.118%, far exceeding the 0.08% legal limit for driving. The next day, he posted a $3,000 cash bond and was released. He was arraigned in Arenac County District Court on July 25, 2023, pleading no contest to the charge the following month. In October 2023, sentencing was delayed for one year, leaving Cousineau effectively on probation. Bay County Sheriff Troy R. Cunningham said the guard also remains on personal leave from his job at the county jail.
Source: Michigan Advance Newspapers, Saginaw News, WJRT
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