News File Photo Brad Srebnik, left, sits with defense attorney Mike Vogler in Alpena’s 88th District Court in this October 2021 News archive photo.

ALPENA — Brad Srebnik and Josh Wirgau, two men facing charges over an alleged September hijacking, repeatedly faced criminal charges in the years before police found the body of Alpena teenager Brynn Bills buried in Wirgau’s backyard.

Police found the body of a second woman, Abby Hill, in Alpena Township earlier this month and said she probably died by homicide. Hill was Facebook friends with Bills and allegedly participated in the hijacking with Srebnik and Wirgau.

Police consider Wirgau a person of interest in their investigation into Bills’ death, which police have not publicly deemed a homicide, pending the results of an autopsy.

Police have not publicly named any suspects in either woman’s death.

Meanwhile, Srebnik and Wirgau face several charges over allegations they and Hill forced a man at gunpoint to give them a ride in his tow truck in Alpena Township last month. Judge Ed Black has bound Srebnik over for trial in Alpena’s 26th Circuit Court, while the court delayed Wirgau’s preliminary examination so Wirgau could discuss new information with his attorney.

The current case was not the first time those men landed on police’s radar, according to police records and court records.

Wirgau’s attorney, Rick Steiger, declined to comment for this story. Srebnik’s attorney, Mike Vogler, did not return a call seeking comment.

In addition to the current charges related to the alleged hijacking, Srebnik also currently faces felony weapons charges in Osceola County and domestic violence charges in Alpena County.

Before that, Srebnik in 2007 pleaded guilty to charges of conducting criminal enterprises and receiving stolen property. Several years later, he admitted to serving as an accessory in two 2012 break-ins and thefts of guns and drugs in Montmorency County.

Meanwhile, a judge in 2009 sentenced Wirgau to 43 months in prison for sexually assaulting a girl between the ages of 13 and 15, when Wirgau was 20. A year before that, Wirgau pleaded guilty to third-degree retail fraud and an unrelated drunk-driving charge.

Wirgau, Srebnik, and Hill have each pleaded guilty to delivering marijuana, but not in related incidents, records show.

Hill in 2018 pleaded guilty to several incidents of misdemeanor retail fraud and in 2016 to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge.

A check of police records revealed no Michigan arrests of Bills.