Former Democrat candidate sentenced for sex crimes against child

By AILEEN WINGBLAD

A prison sentence was handed down this week to a former Oakland County Commission candidate for sex crimes against a child.

In a sentencing agreement with the prosecution, Markus Vernon Tincher, 35, of Pontiac pleaded no contest to the charges before Oakland County Circuit Judge Victoria Valentine in February, and on April 19 received concurrent sentences of 12 to 45 years for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and 5 to 15 years for second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under age 13. He had faced up to life in prison.

The sex crimes were alleged to have happened in late 2019 at a home elsewhere in Oakland County where he had been living.

Court records show that Tincher’s attorney sought a reduced bond in January 2021 based on a number of allegations including purported issues with medication prescribed for Tincher’s HIV-positive status. Among the issues was a claim that food provided to inmates was nutritionally-deficient, making it inadequate in staving off side effects from the drug used to keep Tincher’s HIV viral load at an undetectable level. Tincher stopped taking the medication and his viral load increased dramatically, as indicated by blood tests, according to the court file.

The Oakland County prosecutor said the claims had no merit. The judge sided with the prosecution and denied the request to change the bond.

Tincher was a Democrat nominee for Oakland County Commissioner, fifth district, in 2014. He also campaigned as a state representative-hopeful for the 29th district in the 2018 election but didn’t make it on the ballot. If Tincher is eventually released from prison, he’ll be required to wear a GPS monitor for the rest of his life, the judge ruled.