Woman who won $500K in Michigan lottery gets probation, drug rehab for burglaries

BAY CITY, MI — A Bay City woman who won a half-million dollars on a scratch-off lottery ticket now owes nearly $18,000 in restitution for her role in a burglary spree.

Stephanie D. Harvell in January pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree home invasion and one count of conspiracy to commit that crime, both 15-year felonies.

Harvell in January 2016 won $500,000 on a $5 “Hot Ticket” scratch-off from the Michigan Lottery.

Bay County Circuit Judge Harry P. Gill on Monday, March 2, sentenced Harvell, 29, to two years of probation on the Swift and Sure Sanctions Program, designed for those at risk of failure.

Gill also ordered Harvell into long-term residential drug treatment. Harvell is to be held in custody until she’s transferred to a treatment facility.

The judge gave Harvell credit for 53 days served in jail on one matter and 185 days served in another. He deferred 312 days, meaning Harvell will serve that time if she violates probation.

The judge ordered Harvell to pay a total of $17,966.01 in restitution between four recipients.

When she pleaded, Harvell said she burglarized homes in the 800 block Cody Estey Road in Bay County’s Pinconning Township on Aug. 22 and in the 500 block of South Farley Road Merritt Township on Aug. 29. She said she and her husband, Mitchell T. Arnswald, drove to the houses and that he kicked in the residences’ doors.

She took jewelry boxes from bedrooms in both homes, she said. She added she did not know the homes’ owners.

In exchange for Harvell’s pleas, Bay County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Jeffrey D. Stroud dismissed a count of possession of burglary tools. He also agreed not to issue charges stemming from five similar burglaries.

Authorities have said Harvell and Arnswald are suspects in similar burglaries in Arenac, Midland, Saginaw, and Tuscola counties.

Staff at the Midland County Prosecutor’s Office said they are reviewing matters. In Arenac County, Harvell is charged with two counts of second-degree home invasion. She is facing two counts each of breaking and entering a building with intent and larceny in a building in Tuscola County. She is not facing charges in Saginaw County.

In the summer of 2019, a task force comprising detectives from all five counties was formed to investigate a rash of seemingly related burglaries.

The afternoon of Aug. 29, after the Merritt Township home was burglarized, investigating deputies found a Ford SUV matching the suspect vehicle description at the Meijer at 595 N. Pine Road in Hampton Township. Deputies staked out the unoccupied SUV until Harvell and Arnswald exited the Meijer, returned to it, and started driving away, Sheriff Troy R. Cunningham has said.

Deputies pulled over the SUV and arrested Arnswald and Harvell without incident. In the vehicle, deputies found a safe, a jewelry box, and other items reported stolen from the Merritt Township house.

Deputies also found just-purchased crowbars and rubber gloves, Cunningham said.

Arnswald, 30, remains charged with two counts second-degree home invasion and single counts conspiracy to commit that crime and possession of burglary tools. He is scheduled to appear for a Cobbs hearing before Judge Gill on March 5. A Cobbs hearing sees a judge outline a likely sentence if a defendant is convicted.

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