Charles Prins

 

"Just doing my business"

In white cloud, Michigan a man accused of shooting two Ionia County deputies was shot and killed by police Friday after a weeklong manhunt. Charles Prins, 42, of Saranac allegedly shot two officers May 1 and then fled after they tried to serve him with a misdemeanor warrant.

FBI Special Agent Chuck Goodwin said state police found Prins about 5 p.m. while making a sweep of the same rural area of Newaygo County outside White Cloud that authorities had been searching for several days.

After tracking dogs picked up his scent, a short foot chase ensued, Ionia County Sheriff Dwain Dennis said in a statement. Prins fired one shot and police returned fire with about three shots, Dennis said.

Preliminary reports indicate Prins died immediately after being hit in the head by a single bullet, Dennis said. He was found with a semi-automatic rifle..

The search for Prins had focused on Newaygo County after authorities discovered a pickup truck Prins abandoned in Kent County last Saturday.

The truck also contained a letter from Prins. Although police did not release the exact contents of the letter, Ionia County Sheriff's Lt. Dale Miller said in the letter Prins wrote that "he doesn't plan to surrender or kill himself."

Prins also apologized for the pain and sadness he put his family through and said he "intends to 'get' all who made him do what he had to do." Dennis said evidence suggested that Prins was in the Newaygo area for at least three days. That location is about 50 miles northwest of where the deputies were shot.

Prins had faced two counts of attempted murder after prosecutors said he shot Deputy Jeff Goss in the head and Lt. Robert Schutt in the shoulder. Goss remained in serious condition at a Grand Rapids hospital Friday. Schutt was no longer hospitalized.

Reached at his home Friday, Schutt said the entire situation was tragic with a tragic ending. "It was really unfortunate that Mr. Prins didn't turn himself in," Schutt told The Daily News of Greenville. "I really feel real sorry for Mr. Prins' family." Schutt said he would be off work for at least two months after undergoing three operations in five days on his shoulder. detnews.com home page Copyright 1998, The Detroit News

 

 

 

NOTE: The FBI was brought in on this very quickly. Full-blown FBI SWAT teams were used to hunt down Charles Prins. It should also be noted that Prins had several bullet wounds in the chest.

 

Hi-Tech heat sensor equipment aboard choppers found Mr. Prins while Kevlar-clad teams moved in. Reports say that Prins shot first, but it doesn't follow that a hunted man who has vowed to die, will be so careful about hiding and avoiding capture.

 

The fact is that Charles Prins HAD to die, lest his story of years of harrassment by county bureaucrats would turn sympathy toward the plight of property owners in Michigan. Lastly, what was this all over, he did have a building permit to put a window in his house. So they tried to jail him.