Grant Township man charged with drug delivery causing death

Grant Township man charged with drug delivery causing death

56.8 grams of fentanyl recovered from scene

Chick

LUDINGTON — A 43-year-old Grant Township man has been charged with delivery of a controlled substance causing death for the death of a 41-year-old Manistee man last March, according to Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole.

Michael Thomas Chick II, faces five other charges in connection to the death of Matthew Day.

“During the early morning hours of March 25, 2023, Mason County deputies were called to a residence in the 9600 block of North US 31 in Grant Township regarding a male subject not breathing,” states Sheriff Cole. “This subject, Matthew Day, 41 years of age from Manistee, Michigan would not survive the night and passed away. At the scene that night, deputies recovered 56.8 grams of (what would later be proven to be) pure fentanyl and other evidence related to drug dealing and firearms. 

“Investigators have determined the amount of fentanyl seized that night was enough to kill several thousand people, and the amount recovered was pure and had not been mixed with any other substances,” said Sheriff Cole.

“Since that time Mason County Sheriff’s Office deputies and detectives, along with SSCENT (State, Sheriffs’, Chiefs’ Enforcement of Narcotics Team) detectives have been investigating this death. This investigation involved the execution of search warrants, crime lab analysis and autopsy reports.”

The Mason County Sheriff’s Office swore to a six-count warrant against Chick Tuesday, Jan. 16. The charges include:

• Delivery of controlled substance causing death, which is a felony punishable by up to life in prison.
• Controlled substance delivery/manufacture — cocaine, heroin or another narcotic 50-449 grams, which is a felony that is punishable by up to 20 years.
• Three counts of felony firearms, which is a two-year felony.
• Maintaining a drug house, which is a high-court misdemeanor punishable by up to two years.

Chick was in jail on an unrelated charge at the time of the arrest. He has been arraigned on these latest charges and remains lodged in the Mason County Jail and bond is set at $100,000 cash/surety.

Assisting deputies at the scene were members of the Grant Township Fire Department, Life EMS and detectives with SSCENT, a multi-jurisdictional drug team. 

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