08/25/2026
BREAKING - Shiawassee County Spends Thousands Taking Domestic Vehicle Dispute to Trial — Jury Says Not Guilty
Corunna, Mich. — Shiawassee County taxpayers were left footing the bill Tuesday for a criminal trial stemming from what testimony portrayed as a domestic dispute between a couple who had been in a relationship for approximately seven years and shared children.
Shiawassee County Elected Prosecutor Scott Koerner personally prosecuted the case against Tyler Rodney Parker, who was accused of taking his longtime girlfriend’s vehicle without permission. Parker testified that he had driven the vehicle many times during their relationship, including taking their children to school, and that the couple routinely drove each other’s vehicles.
The incident that led to the charge began when Parker drove the woman’s vehicle to his home. She subsequently reported it stolen. When police contacted Parker, he did not deny having the vehicle, according to testimony. He told officers it was sitting in his driveway. Testimony also indicated that the couple continued seeing one another after the police report was filed.
During the Aug. 25 trial, the complaining witness repeatedly testified that she could not remember certain details surrounding the incident. Parker, meanwhile, maintained that after seven years of sharing vehicles, he believed he was permitted to drive the car and said she had not told him before he took it that he could not use it.
Koerner argued a much narrower interpretation to jurors: that past use of another person's vehicle does not automatically establish permission to use it on a particular occasion. His questioning and closing argument focused heavily on whether Parker had been expressly permitted to take the vehicle that day.
That argument raises an interesting question for couples who routinely share vehicles. Does a husband, wife, or longtime partner need to ask for specific permission every single time they drive a vehicle titled in the other person's name? And at what point does a disagreement over use of a commonly shared vehicle become a criminal matter rather than a domestic dispute?
The jury ultimately answered the most important question in Parker's case. After a relatively short deliberation Tuesday, jurors returned a not-guilty verdict.
The verdict also raises a larger question about prosecutorial discretion and the use of limited county resources. Jury trials require a judge, court staff, deputies, jurors, prosecutors, defense counsel, and other personnel. When all of those costs are considered, we have been advised by the court that the costs are close to $15,000 to $20,000 to hold a trial.
Shiawassee County, like counties across Michigan, also handles serious felony cases involving Criminal S*xual Conduct, methamphetamine trafficking, violent crime and other offenses. Prosecutors necessarily have discretion over which cases proceed to trial, but taxpayers are equally entitled to question whether that discretion is being exercised wisely.
No one disputes that a person has legal rights over property titled in their name. But the evidence presented Tuesday involved a seven-year relationship, children, a history of sharing vehicles, a car that was openly parked at Parker's home and a defendant who immediately acknowledged where it was when contacted by police.
A jury heard those facts and found Parker not guilty.
The question Shiawassee County residents may now ask is whether this was really a case that ever needed a jury to answer in the first place.
By: Tom Manke
Aug. 25, 2026
7:15 pm ET
Photo: Video grab of defendant Tyler Rodney Parker and file photo of Shiawassee County's Chief Prosecutor Scott Koerner.
