A former Schofield Barracks soldier convicted of burglarizing University of Hawaii dorms, stealing women’s underwear and sexually assaulting a woman in her Waikiki apartment is now facing a felony charge in Michigan after videotaping outside a sheriff’s office at 2 a.m. while wearing body armor, according to police and media reports.
Mark A. Heath, 34, was being held last week in the Arenac County jail charged with one count of violent felon in possession of body armor, said Undersheriff Don McIntyre. The jail building includes a sheriff’s office and was being filmed by Health before his arrest.
Heath’s bond was set at $50,000. McIntyre said it’s
illegal for a felon to be in possession of body armor, with a conviction carrying
a maximum four-year term.
“He showed up on Monday, Aug. 9, in the early morning hours and was
videotaping our deputies, particularly on our buildings and grounds,” McIntyre told MLive.com, a Michigan print and online news group. “He was wearing body armor, which was concerning for us.”
According to MLive.com, Heath more than a decade ago was convicted in the UH break-ins and sexual
assault. After he served prison time he relocated
to Michigan, the report said. A Michigan State Police sex offender registry lists Heath as being convicted of sexual assault in 2010 in Hawaii.
McIntyre said in a phone interview that Heath runs De Facto Media Group on YouTube, which has an “official channel trailer” that says it has been “promoting transparency” since “20/20.”
“Protect yourself and your community. Film the police. Capture the truth,” the trailer states.
A video dated Aug. 11 shows an awkward encounter with an armed
corrections officer at the Arenac County Sheriff’s
Department in Standish, Mich., that the filmer, apparently Heath, refers to as a “night audit.”
“Hey guys, Arenac County Sheriff, Standish, Mich. I got a feeling about this one. Definitely got a feeling about this one,” he starts out, while roaming around outside the darkened buildings and grounds, including the parking lot.
“Can I help you?” an unseen corrections officer says.
“Oh, no, I appreciate it, man,” the voice behind the camera says before asking for the officer’s name and badge number.
The officer asks, “What’s going on?” and provides his name and badge number, and is told, “OK, cool, right on man. Have a good one.”
Filming continues around the facility with
the videographer saying, “Yeah, they’ve got cameras right up here. They’ve got the antennae right back there. And you can come back here all you want. There’s no authorized personnel signs, so it’s free game. Public property.”
The camera operator starts reading off vehicle license plates and is asked by the nearby officer, “Got any weapons on you, guy?” Shortly afterward the officer is asked, “Hey, you got a gun on you?” to which the reply is “Yep.”
At one point the officer says, “I’m just wondering what you are doing?” and is told, “I’m just filming, man. What are you up to?”
Asked about Heath filming in the middle of the night on the sheriff’s office grounds, McIntyre said: “I’m not going to get into that. … That’s a hot-button issue right now.”
Before moving to Mio, Mich., Heath was sentenced to 10 years in
Hawaii with credit for two years and eight months already served, MLive.com reported.
In Oahu Circuit Court in July 2010, Heath apologized to his victims, the U.S. Army, community and his former wife for his crimes.
“There’s no excuse for what I did,” he said. His lawyer said Heath had developed an alcohol problem due to stress from
an impending overseas
deployment.
Honolulu police arrested Heath on Nov. 25, 2007, at one of UH’s dormitories after he was caught trying to enter a room. He had a stolen iPod and women’s underwear in his pockets.
Heath later admitted to two other dorm burglaries. In one, a female student awoke as Heath was cutting off her underwear. He then held scissors to her face and fondled her.
Police used a DNA sample taken from Heath to also connect him to an April 9, 2007, Ala Wai Boulevard sexual assault in which a woman awoke to find her assailant raping her and holding a pillow over her head.
