I tell my 7-year-old son regularly to do things with his “whole chest.” What I mean by it is that if he is going to do something, he needs to take full responsibility for it. For instance if he talks back to me or does something wrong and tries to excuse it so he doesn’t have to deal with the real-life consequences, I tell him to be wrong with his whole chest, own up, and deal with the outcomes of his actions. Apparently, this is a lesson some people really need deeply ingrained. For example, a Michigan man fully believed he could circumvent his choices by pulling a fast one on his child’s mother in family court.
According to the Atlanta Black Star, two Michigan men are facing felony charges after trying to dupe family court. Authorities claim that Mark McCracken asked friend Derek Harrison to “stand in” for him during a court-appointed DNA test appointment to verify his paternity to 2-year-old Taliah. Icess Hardin told ABC news affiliate WXYZ that she was in an on-and-off relationship with McCracken, who tried to distance himself from her after she gave birth. What makes it particularly bizarre is that the pair already share an 8-year-old son.
“He just said he didn’t want his wife to know about her and that he didn’t want anything to do with her. He’s married now — he wasn’t married when he got me pregnant,” Hardin claimed.
Harrison showed up instead of McCracken for the scheduled DNA cheek swab, but unbeknownst to either of them, the office that performs the tests has video recordings to prove who shows up … even though the office has signs that notify patients they are being recorded.
“They kind of similarly look alike, but unfortunately, Mr. McCracken’s DNA is going to be a lot different than Mr. Harrison’s,” Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido told Fox 2.
When the mother was summoned to review the DNA results, their plot was unraveled. “That’s impossible, let me see who came in. And we showed her, and she said that’s not him,” Lucido said.
According to the Black Star, however, the mom was not in total shock. “He got caught because I went back up there — I knew the DNA result was wrong,” Hardin said. “It was crazy — I already suspected he was up to something sneaky, but I never thought he’d go that far.”
Both Harrison and McCracken are charged with tampering with evidence and, due to their criminal records, may potentially serve up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
“The allegations in this matter are truly outrageous,” Lucido said, per WXYZ. “As many know, Macomb County takes matters of child support extremely seriously, and this case will receive the full attention it warrants.”
