ALPENA–The trial of former Alpena Public Schools teacher Heather Winfield will not be postponed, a judge said Tuesday.

Attorneys on both sides asked a judge to postpone Winfield’s trial, which is currently scheduled for later this month. Winfield was charged in January with sexually assaulting a former student. The News does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

Assistant Prosecutor Cynthia Muszynski requested more time to receive and process electronic data that is being shared by Google to verify the alleged victim’s whereabouts during the investigation.

The defense asked for time to respond to the voluminous information still being received.

Citing the already-extensive investigation period into allegations against Winfield, beginning in October 2016, Judge Michael Mack in the 26th Circuit Court declined to postpone Winfield’s trial. Whatever evidence each side has to offer at the time of the trial will have to suffice, Mack said.

Any newly discovered evidence gathered between now and the time of the trial will be dealt with when the time comes, the judge said.

Hearings are scheduled for later this week to address questions regarding the use of expert witnesses at trial.

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Four men were on the docket on Tuesday for their first appearance in Circuit Court on charges related to home invasions committed between June and August of this year.

Jacob Acre, 18, of Alpena and associate Nehemiah Furgerson, 21, listed in court documents as homeless, are accused of entering an apartment on Miller Street in Alpena in June while a person was in the residence. Both men are expected to agree to a plea deal at their next hearing, according to attorneys.

Tait Mahlmeister, 44, of Hubbard Lake, was charged with first-degree home invasion and assault with a weapon for an incident in July.

David Precord, 57, also listed as homeless in court records, pleaded guilty to second-degree home invasion for entering an occupied dwelling on Michigan Avenue in Alpena in early August.

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An Essexville man, formerly of Alpena, pleaded no contest on Tuesday to stealing a checkbook from an office in his estranged wife’s used car dealership and stealing one of her cars.

Matthew Chevalier, 31, had been seen rummaging through the business’s office and later was proven to have written checks in the business’s name. Keys to the vehicle he took without permission were found among his belongings at jail.

Chevalier, who was incarcerated in the Bay County Jail at the time of his arrest for stealing the car and checkbook, was sentenced to 13 months to five years in state prison and ordered to pay restitution.

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A woman prosecutors hoped would testify in a recent jury trial against a drug trafficker was given jail time on Tuesday for failing to report to a probation officer.

Chastity Wolff, girlfriend to Milton Baytops, a Flint man convicted by a jury last month of selling illegal narcotics in Alpena by using young women of the community as distributors, was given 30 days in jail, in addition to the 32 days she has already served after she left the area against probation restrictions.

Wolff was arrested in late July in Jackson.

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An illegal gun purchase by two young Alpena men drew the concern of the court as both were sentenced Tuesday.

In what one of the defendants called a “stupid” act, Andrew Soffer-Sauls, a then-18-year-old who was not legally able to purchase a gun, gave 21-year-old Cody Headley money to make the purchase on his behalf in July 2018. The Alpena Police Department arrested both men the day of the purchase.

Both men were sentenced on Tuesday, receiving a year’s probation each and credit for jail time served. Both were granted protection under the state’s Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, allowing them to have their records cleared on successful completion of probation.

During sentencing, Mack questioned the ease with which the gun was purchased and put into the hands of someone who, according to court records, has a history of bipolar disorder symptoms.

Upon questioning, Headley said he assumed his friend would use it for target practice.

“On who?” Mack asked, making reference to regular news stories of horrific ramifications of untrained firearm users having access to weapons. “Do you sympathize with the families around the country whose sons and daughters were targets themselves?”

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693, jriddle@thealpenanews.com or on Twitter @jriddleX.