Parolee admits to possessing revolver

A parolee, arrested Aug. 18 by the Michigan State Police Fugitive Task Force at his home in Camden Township for absconding from parole, admitted to possessing a revolver Monday morning in the 1st Judicial Circuit Court. 

Nathaniel James Gillett, 24, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon in a plea deal Monday offered by the Hillsdale County Prosecutor’s Office who agreed to dismiss charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, felony firearms and receiving and concealing a stolen motor vehicle. Gillett will also not be pursued as a habitual offender at the time of sentencing despite having a record.

Gillett said that he was at his home on Mead Road on Aug. 18 when police arrived to arrest him for absconding from parole and they found a loaded .22 revolver in his possession at that time. 

He further admitted to being on parole and having a felony record during his short plea hearing. 

Following his plea, Judge Sara S. Lisznyai ordered a pre-sentence investigation report be completed prior to Gillett’s sentencing at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 25 where he faces up to five years in prison for his latest conviction. He will not be given any credit for time served due to his parole status. 

Gillett was the subject of a short-lived manhunt in August after officers with the Hillsdale City Police Department identified him as a person of interest wanted for questioning in connection with a "shots fired" complaint in Hillsdale. 

Hillsdale Police Chief Scott Hephner said in an earlier interview that his officers responded to Gillett’s former girlfriend’s home in Hillsdale after receiving a complaint that Gillett fired a handgun in the vicinity of his girlfriend during a heated argument. No injuries were reported at the time.