Though his sentencing was last Wednesday, May 3, legal action is still being pursued against Shawn Patrick Woodruff in relation to the August 2022 death of Ben Green.
The 27-year-old Croswell native will be back in court at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, June 5, for a review hearing in regard to a civil suit Green’s mother, Joy Johnson, is bringing against Woodruff. Johnson, who addressed the court during Woodruff’s Wednesday sentencing, is being represented by attorney Dustin C. Hoff for the personal injury–auto negligence damage suit, which covers all complaints of personal injury, or personal injury and property damage, involving the use of a motor vehicle.
Johnson filed the complaint and jury demand on March 31, a little over two weeks after Woodruff pleaded guilty during a status conference. The civil suit’s pre-trial questionnaire was issued to Woodruff the same day as his criminal sentencing, with it being due by the June 5 review hearing.
Woodruff, who originally faced eight charges, took a plea agreement in March that drops an open murder charge, a misdemeanor charge of moving violation causing death and two assault charges, a move that Sanilac County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Wrathell called a “drastic reduction in charges.”
By dropping the murder charge, the defendant no longer faces a maximum of up to life in prison for his crimes. As part of the plea agreement, signed just before the March 15th status conference, Woodruff faces a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison for both the reckless driving and failure to stop charges.
He’ll be required to pay almost $1900 in court costs, fines and assessments, and was given a minimum of 14 months to five years in jail for obstruction of justice, 90 days for failure to report an accident, and 239 days maximum for unlawful use of a motor vehicle. He already has a time served credit of 239 days. Circuit Court Judge Tim Wrathell ordered that Woodruff’s prisoner funds be remitted to cover the costs.
The charges and new civil suit stem from the hit-and-run death of Ben Green in Croswell on August 8 of 2022.
