.jpg)
Totten
By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
LUDINGTON — A 27-year-old Ludington man who briefly escaped from police custody at the Mason County Courthouse last fall was sentenced to three prison terms in Mason County’s 51st Circuit Court Tuesday, June 24.
Jesse Allen Totten pleaded guilty last April in three files to charges of: escape awaiting trial for a felony, meth possession, second-degree home invasion, larceny from a motor vehicle, attempted second-degree home invasion, malicious destruction of a building $200-$1,000 and larceny $200-$1,000.
Totten was sentenced to five to 40 years in the home invasion file; three to 40 years for meth conviction; and one year and one day to 15 years consecutive for the escape conviction.
“He will do a total of six years MDOC and he will not be getting credit for any of the time he has spent (in jail) so far, as he was on parole at the time of the offenses,” said Mason County Prosecuting Attorney Beth Hand. “All the time he has served so far will go towards his parole violation.”
Totten will have to serve his parole violation sentence first; then he will serve the home invasion and meth cases concurrently; and then he will serve the escape sentence consecutively.
A tether tampering charge was dismissed. “It would not have resulted in an additional penalty, and the possession of meth charge carried the more serious penalty,” Prosecutor Hand explained.
Totten was being transported from the Mason County Jail to the Mason County Courthouse where he was scheduled to appear for a hearing, Nov. 20. Upon arriving at the courthouse, at 2:22 p.m., and being let out of the van, Totten fled heading east and south from the courthouse. He was wearing handcuffs and a belly chain, according to Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole.
Cole said Totten was one of two inmates who was in the vehicle at the time and the deputy was unable to pursue him.
Totten was apprehended at 2:46 p.m. by Ludington Police Department officers shortly afterwards hiding behind a garage near the former Foster Elementary School about four blocks away.
Totten has been lodged in the Mason County Jail on a $250,000 cash/surety bond.
________________________
Please Support Local News
Receive daily MCP and OCP news briefings along with email news alerts for $10 a month. Your contribution will help us to continue to provide you with free local news.
Payment can be made monthly via credit card, bank account, PayPal or Venmo through recurring email invoicing. These payments can be set up for autopay each month.
To sign up, email editor@mediagroup31.com. In the subject line write: Subscription. Please supply your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number (indicate cell phone). We will not share your information with any outside sources. For more than one email address in a household, the cost is $15 per month per email address.
Alternative methods:
- We can send you an invoice for a yearly payment of $120, which you can conveniently pay online or by check. If you are interested in this method, please email editor@mediagroup31.com and we can sign you up. You can also mail a yearly check for $120 to Media Group 31, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454 (please include your email address).
Payment must be made in advance prior to subscription activation.
We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they choose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.
_____
This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2025, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.
As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.
.png)
