NEWS RELEASE

This morning in the 33rd Circuit Court, John Victor Cannon, Jr., 57, Charlevoix was sentenced to serve 24 to 60 months in prison.

Cannon had pleaded guilty on June 28, 2019 to attempted assault by strangulation, a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and domestic violence, a misdemeanor. He was originally charged with assault by strangulation, a ten-year felony.

According to an affidavit filed by police in the case, on January 23, 2019, Cannon assaulted the victim by grabbing her by the neck, backing her into a wall and telling her that he would kill her if she called police. The assault occurred in front of the victim’s three children. She called police and was taken to the emergency room for medical treatment for her injuries.

Cannon had been previously convicted of domestic violence on May 8, 2018 and was on probation for that offense at the time he committed this offense.

The defendant wrote a letter to the court indicating that he was intoxicated at the time of the offense and had been struggling with fits of anger.

The sentencing guidelines called for a minimum sentence of between 12 months in county jail to 24 months in prison. The probation and parole department recommended a county jail term but Charlevoix County Prosecuting Attorney Allen Telgenhof argued for a prison term because of the egregious nature of the defendant’s actions.

Telgenhof read a letter written by the victim, who was present in the courtroom. In the letter she outlined years of abuse at the hands of the defendant and the harm caused to her and her children by the defendant’s actions.

In arguing for a prison sentence, Telgenhof also noted the defendant was not remorseful, was not a good candidate for rehabilitation and presented an ongoing threat to the victim.

Judge Roy C. Hayes III sentenced Cannon at the high end of the sentencing guidelines, thus Cannon will be eligible for parole in 24 months but could serve a sentence as long as the five-year maximum.