Magistrate

A former Guilford County, North Carolina, detention officer has been charged with forging court documents used to hold inmates for ICE. The Guilford County Sheriff's Office says Michael Shaun Diehl Jr., 40, submitted a document titled "Order After Receipt of ICE Detainer and Administrative Warrant" bearing the forged signature of a magistrate who had not actually processed the case.

Under North Carolina law, inmates subject to an ICE detainer must appear before a magistrate, who can then authorize holding them up to 48 hours beyond their normal release time so ICE can take custody. Investigators found the inmate in question was never presented before a magistrate, and a subsequent review of booking records uncovered 19 additional forms with allegedly forged magistrate signatures, affecting 20 inmates total who were subject to ICE detainers.

Diehl was fired and arrested on 20 counts of felony common law forgery. He was released on a $5,000 secured bond, and additional charges may follow as the investigation continues.

Hillsdale County Sheriff Scott Hodshire, 59, faces two felony charges — obstruction of justice and misconduct in office — filed by the Michigan Attorney General's Office. The case stems from a Feb. 18 incident in which Hodshire allegedly disclosed confidential information about an active investigation, tipping off a theft suspect and his parents that a Williams County, Ohio, sheriff's office had a search warrant and planned to search the family's property. Testimony from Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Travis Pohl at an Aug. 31 probable cause hearing indicated phone records show Hodshire called the suspect's parents and later the suspect himself before Ohio investigators executed the warrant.

Hodshire was arraigned Sept. 2 and released on bond; each charge carries up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. A probable cause conference is scheduled for Sept. 30 in Jackson. Hodshire has denied wrongdoing, saying he was assisting an out-of-state agency as a courtesy and did nothing to interfere with the investigation. First elected in 2020 and reelected in 2024, he says he intends to remain in office in full capacity, and county commissioners have voiced support, though they lack authority to remove him.