crimescenetape-1

Berrien Deputies Cleared Following Burglary Pursuit & Fatal Crash

crimescenetape-1

Two Berrien County Sheriff’s Deputies who tracked and pursued suspected thieves who struck a Stevensville gun store at mid-month have been cleared of any wrong doing and returned to service effective today.

The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office conducted an internal review of the facts and circumstances of the April 15, 2018 incident involving a vehicle that was evading police after a Breaking and Entering and theft of firearms from the Black Arsenal Gun Store in Stevensville in the pre-dawn hours of that day.

Berrien County Undersheriff Charles Heit says today, “Upon completion of the internal review, which included a review of the in-car video of the incident, the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office found no wrong doing on the part of the two deputies involved in this incident.” He concluded, “Based on these findings the two deputies are being returned to work effective today, Monday April 23, 2018.”

Meanwhile the Michigan State Police are still completing their portion of the investigation which will still be forwarded to the Berrien County Prosecutors Office, as is standard procedure in incidents of this nature.

ADVERTISEMENT
Your content continues below

The Undersheriff says the names of the two Berrien County Sheriff’s Office Deputies involved in the incident will not be released until the Berrien County Prosecutors Office has completed their review of the incident. The 20-year old driver and two 17-year old Benton Harbor High School students were killed in the crash while a third 17-year old student remains in critical condition at a hospital in Grand Rapids as a result of the crash north of Rockey Weed Road following the police pursuit that morning. Their car went out of control in a steady rainstorm and crashed into a tree killing three of the four immediately.

The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office says it continues to keep the friends and families of the victims in their thoughts and prayers.

There is no word on when the State Police report will be completed in the investigation.