Accused Michigan cop-shooter shot dead

[DOG3]

Friday May 8 7:05 PM EDT

Accused Michigan cop-shooter shot dead

WHITE CLOUD, Mich., May 8 (UPI) _ A West Michigan man wanted for shooting two
sheriff's deputies in their squad car has been shot and killed by a State
Police tactical squad.

Newaygo County Sheriff Mike Mercer says 42-year-old Charles Prins died at about
5 p.m. EDT today during an exchange of gunfire near Blacksmith Lake, about two
miles northwest of White Cloud. No one else was injured.

Police had focused on the shootout area for days during a massive manhunt for
Prins, following the May 1 attack on two Ionia County deputies, one of whom
remains hospitalized.

Earlier today, Prins' wife and grandfather pleaded for his surrender. Their
attorney made the plea on local TV and radio.

More than 50 FBI agents, state police troopers and sheriff's deputies have
spent six days, sometimes with helicopters and dogs, combing a rural area near
White Cloud that includes Manistee National Forest.

Police received several tips last weekend from people around White Cloud who
claimed they saw Prins. His pickup truck has been recovered.

Prins fled after allegedly shooting the deputies with a semi- automatic rifle
near his Saranac home. The deputies were shot while sitting in their squad car.

The deputies had stopped Prins' pickup truck to serve him a warrant for a
misdemeanor contempt charge. Prins belongs to a local group that thinks the
government is unfair ot property owners.

One victim, 34-year-old Deputy Jeff Goss, remains in serious condition today at
Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids. He was shot in the head. The other,
51-year-old Lt. Bob Schutt, was released Thursday from Blodgett Memorial
Medical Center, where he underwent three surgeries for a damaged shoulder.

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