The Michigan State Police (MSP) is announcing that Jeffrey Dean Wallace of Macomb County has been arrested for tampering with evidence at fire scenes in Bay, Gladwin and St. Clair counties.  Wallace was formerly employed by the East Pointe Fire Department as a fire marshal and was most recently employed by the City of Harper Woods as a part-time city inspector.  His accelerant-sniffing canine was used extensively by law enforcement agencies, fire departments and insurance companies to search suspected arson scenes.

MSP fire investigators began investigating Wallace after receiving information from the Chesterfield Township Police Department that indicated Wallace may have planted evidence at fire scenes.  They were aided in the month-long investigation by an MSP accelerant-sniffing canine, MSP forensic scientists and the MSP Technical Services Unit, as well as personnel from the Grand Rapids, Gladwin and Pinconning/Fraser fire departments.    

The investigation of Wallace's activities involved three fire scenes in St. Clair, Bay and Gladwin counties.  Warrants have been issued in Gladwin County for Tampering with Evidence, Making a False Police Report and Obstruction of Justice, which are felony charges that carry a 10-year maximum penalty.  Warrants were also issued by the Bay County Prosecutor charging Wallace with two counts of Tampering with Evidence, Obstruction of Justice and Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony.  He is pending arrest and arraignment on these charges.  Warrants in St. Clair County are pending review by the Prosecutor's Office there as well.  Wallace has also been arrested as a result of a fourth investigation by Chesterfield Township Police Department in Macomb County.