Connected: Gina Johnsen’s Campaign Paid the Vega Family. Their Son Killed Ambrose Sullivan.

The Death of Ambrose Sullivan

On September 1, 2016, Ambrose Ian Sullivan, 19, was walking home from his job at the Whitmore Lake McDonald’s along Whitmore Lake Road in Green Oak Township, Livingston County. It was approximately 2 a.m. Sullivan was struck by a vehicle and left on the shoulder of the road. His body was discovered the following morning by Green Oak Township police and fire personnel responding to a report of an unresponsive man. Sullivan was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators recovered headlight parts and yellow vehicle body components at the crash site. Those fragments were matched to a 2004 Chevrolet Corvette. The vehicle was not insured and carried an expired license plate. It had sustained approximately $1,000 in damage consistent with a pedestrian impact.

David Vega fled the scene without stopping or reporting the collision. He later told investigators he believed he had struck a deer. After law enforcement identified him through the vehicle evidence, a warrant was authorized. Vega turned himself in and was arraigned in 53rd District Court. The case was bound over to Livingston County’s 44th Circuit Court. On October 6, 2017, Vega entered a guilty plea before Judge Michael P. Hatty. On November 9, 2017, Hatty sentenced him to 7 months in jail and 36 months of probation. No prison term was imposed. The vehicle was not forfeited. The case was closed five days later, on November 14, 2017.

The Corvette was not found at Vega’s residence. It was located at a warehouse on Whitmore Lake owned by Vega’s father, Jeffrey (Jeff) Vega, who runs a transportation business. The concealment of the vehicle became a focal point of criticism from Sullivan’s family, including his mother, Kayla Donaldson/Sullivan, who publicly challenged what she described as inadequate accountability for the conduct following the crash. The Sullivan family pursued a wrongful death civil suit against David Vega, which resulted in a judgment in their favor.

The Question Livingston County Prosecutors Did Not Answer

The vehicle that killed Ambrose Ian Sullivan was not found at the crash scene. It was not found at David Vega’s residence. It was found at a warehouse on Whitmore Lake Road owned by Jeffrey Vega, David’s father. The warehouse is on the same road where Sullivan was struck and left to die. Investigators recovered headlight parts and yellow body components at the scene that matched the Corvette. The car itself had been moved and concealed.

Under Michigan common law, codified through MCL 750.505, an accessory after the fact is defined as one who, with knowledge of another’s guilt, renders assistance to a felon in the effort to hinder detection, arrest, trial, or punishment. The Michigan Supreme Court established this standard in People v Luca, 402 Mich 302 (1978). A conviction requires proof that a felony was committed, that the defendant knew of that felony, that the defendant rendered assistance to the felon, and that the defendant intended to help the felon avoid discovery, arrest, trial, or punishment. The penalty under MCL 750.505 is up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

A warehouse on the same road as the crime scene. A vehicle that sustained $1,000 in damage consistent with a pedestrian impact. A father who runs a transportation business and owns the property where that vehicle was found hidden. These are the documented facts in the public record of this case.

Michigan’s accessory after the fact doctrine does not require that the underlying principal be convicted first. MCL 767.67 explicitly permits charging accessories after the fact in the same indictment as the principal, or independently. The decision not to charge Jeffrey Vega was a prosecutorial choice, not a legal impossibility.

The Vega Family’s Political Operation

Jeffrey Vega is publicly identified as President of the Hispanic Leadership Initiative, a Michigan-based conservative faith and civic organization. He is also listed on Facebook as an executive film producer and maintains a public profile as a political organizer within Michigan’s Republican-aligned faith community. His organization’s website is propositomi.org.

During the 2022 Michigan election cycle, Michigan Secretary of State records show a political committee called the Vega Fund was registered and active. The Vega Fund’s contributor list includes David Vega ($500) and Patricia Vega ($225), names consistent with the Fowlerville Vega family. The Vega Fund made several disbursements supporting Republican candidates in Livingston County and the surrounding region during that cycle.

The Vega Fund’s single largest expenditure was a $2,225 payment to Vega Media, disbursed on December 30, 2021. Vega Media is listed in public records as based in Howell, Michigan. Its Facebook page describes the business as a branding and media company. The Vega Fund also contributed to campaigns including Friends of Jamie Thompson and Scott Barlow for Michigan, among others.

The Johnsen Campaign Payment

Michigan Secretary of State campaign finance records, as aggregated by Transparency USA, show the Committee to Elect Gina Johnsen paid Vega Media across three separate transactions during the 2022 election cycle. The payments were made on December 27, 2021 ($4,250), August 22, 2022 ($2,000), August 22, 2022 ($1,000), and September 30, 2022 ($2,000), totaling $9,250. All transactions list the payment city as Howell.

The payment category field in the public filings does not specify whether Vega Media was engaged for media production, consulting, advertising, or another service. Michigan campaign finance law requires disclosure of payee name, amount, and date, but does not mandate itemized descriptions of services rendered at the individual transaction level.

The Network Overlap: Lambright, Citizens Defending Freedom, and the Johnsen Office

The Vega Fund’s contributor list includes David Lambright ($500) and Ellen Lambright ($500). David Lambright appeared as a co-featured speaker with Jeffrey Vega at the March 30, 2025 Time to Lead faith leaders and influencer gathering held at Real Life Church in Charlotte, Michigan. That event was co-sponsored by Citizens Defending Freedom Faith.

Citizens Defending Freedom has a documented relationship with Rep. Johnsen’s legislative work. Michigan House Education and Workforce committee minutes from a 2026 hearing show that a Citizens Defending Freedom representative testified in support of HB 5364 at the same hearing at which Rep. Johnsen also testified in support of the bill.

Robin Stearns is listed in Michigan legislative directories as Johnsen’s Legislative Aide and Constituent Services representative, with a official house.mi.gov email address. Public Facebook records show Stearns among those who reacted to a post by Jeff Vega in the period examined.

What the Record Does Not Show

Public campaign finance records do not specify what services Vega Media was retained to provide to the Johnsen campaign. The payment category fields in the Michigan SOS filings are not itemized at the service level. Michigan LARA’s business entity database does not return a registered entity matching Vega Media at the time of this reporting, which may indicate the business operates under a trade name, is registered under a different legal name, or was not formally incorporated as a Michigan entity.

This investigation does not establish that Rep. Johnsen had knowledge of David Vega’s 2016 criminal charge or the warehouse concealment when her campaign engaged Vega Media. It does not establish that Vega Media’s work for the campaign was improper under Michigan law. It establishes that the financial relationship exists in the public record, that the entity receiving payment shares a name and city of record with a family political committee whose contributors include the defendant in a fatal hit-and-run, and that the Vega family’s broader political network overlaps with Johnsen’s own organizational affiliations.

Gina Johnsen’s 2026 Senate Campaign

Rep. Johnsen is currently a candidate for Michigan State Senate District 33, a Republican primary race covering parts of Kent, Ionia, Newaygo, Montcalm, Lake, Muskegon, and Ottawa counties. The 2022 campaign cycle examined in this report reflects the race in which Johnsen first won election to the Michigan House’s 78th District, a seat she has held since January 2023 and was re-elected to in 2024.

Johnsen has not, as of the publication of this report, responded to a request for comment on the Vega Media payments or the Vega family connection. This article will be updated.