BELLAIRE — A Central Lake man faces a felony charge after police said he drove his truck on a local golf course, causing damage.
Noah Marshall Dawson, 29, is charged with a single count of destroying between $1,000 and $20,000 worth of trees, shrubs, grass, turf or soil. He's scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.
Antrim County authorities believe Dawson damaged a portion of the Hawk's Eye Golf Course near Bellaire in October.
They connected the vandalism to Dawson through his truck, which allegedly had sand and grass from the course in its wheel wells. Authorities believe he drove across a green and multiple sand traps in the early morning hours of Oct. 7, not long after police were looking for him on an unrelated complaint.
"He did donuts on the green and tore up several traps; it was unbelievable," said Grant Rowe, the course manager. "I've never seen such a tear-up of a golf course."
Rowe estimated it will cost $5,000 to $10,000 to repair the damage for next season.
Dawson worked for the golf course this summer, Rowe said, so the vandalism was disappointing. Antrim County Prosecutor Charles Koop could not explain the act.
"It's like any vandalism ... there is no reason for it, no logical reason," Koop said. "You can't apply logic to an illogical act."
Dawson's truck was found in a ditch not far from the course several hours after the vandalism occurred, and a deputy with the Antrim County Sheriff's Department found grass and sand on the vehicle.
Koop's office didn't receive a request for charges until December, and holiday scheduling pushed the issuance of a formal charge until January, he said.
Dawson has a host of traffic violations and in 2003 was convicted of attempted assaulting and/or obstructing a public officer, a felony.
