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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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Posted on 07/09/2003 5:52:58 AM PDT by Vigilant1
DAYTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) ? Fire burned the rural home of a man who barricaded himself inside during a deadly police standoff, but authorities were unable to find him when they searched the rubble, Michigan State Police said.
Two hours after the Tuesday afternoon fire, officials found a backpack filled with food and ammunition about three-quarters of a mile away, said Tracy Pardo, a state police communications officer.
The wife of the barricaded man, Scott Allen Woodring, 40, identified the backpack as her husband's, Pardo told the Detroit Free Press for a Wednesday story.
State police said Woodring was believed to be inside when they fired a concussion grenade into the house, which went up in flames a short time later. They were uncertain whether the explosive device, intended to stun Woodring, started the fire or if he set it.
State police scheduled a news conference for Wednesday morning.
Trooper Kevin Marshall, a 33-year-old married father of two and a native of Sterling Heights, was shot Monday afternoon during the standoff. He died later during surgery at a Grand Rapids hospital.
State police were called in after the confrontation erupted Sunday night.
Woodring barricaded himself when officers from the Hesperia Police Department and the Newaygo County Sheriff's Department tried to serve him at his Dayton Township home with a felony arrest warrant. The township is adjacent to Fremont, about 30 miles northeast of Muskegon.
The warrant accuses Woodring of soliciting a minor for sex on July 1 at a gas station, The Grand Rapids Press reported.
Several hours into the standoff, police helped Woodring's wife escape the home, leaving him alone inside.
After Woodring allegedly fired two shots from the house on Monday afternoon, the State Police Emergency Support Team stormed inside and then withdrew. Marshall, an eight-year state police veteran who served on the team, was shot at that time.
When asked whether Marshall could have been hit by a bullet shot by another officer, state police Inspector Barry Getzen said the matter remained under investigation and authorities would examine evidence to "determine what rounds the officer was hit with."
Tom Wayne, former chief of staff and executive officer of the Michigan Militia Corps Wolverines, told The Detroit News that Woodring was active in the group until the mid-1990s. They parted ways over ideological differences.
"He started getting more and more into the Christian Identity movement," said Wayne, who said the militia is largely inactive now.
The movement espouses racist, sexist, anti-Semitic and homophobic beliefs.
Woodring's sister, Debbie DeVisser, of Mount Pleasant, described her brother as a deeply religious man who would help anyone and not ask for anything in return.
Asked if she thought he would shoot at someone, DeVisser said, "Scott would not shoot anybody to harm anybody. The only reason he would have shot (at police) was because he felt threatened and to protect himself."
DeVisser said she wished police had allowed family members to talk to Woodring on Tuesday and speculated that family may have been able to talk him out. Relatives were allowed to converse with him on Monday, the same day police said they last spoke with him during the standoff.
Suzie Burdick, of Everett Township in Newaygo County, said she and Woodring have been close friends for five years. She said they have attended the same church for about a year and often spoke several times a day, mostly about the Bible.
Burdick noted that while Woodring holds strong anti-government views, he was a nonviolent person.
"He's the most loving person I've ever known, just about. He's kind, considerate, loving, caring and loved his wife dearly," Burdick said.
Meanwhile, Gov. Jennifer Granholm has ordered flags at all state buildings to be lowered to half-staff until sundown of the day of Marshall's funeral. Funeral arrangements have not yet been completed, according to her office.
Marshall is the 49th Michigan State Police trooper to die in the line of duty. His death is the department's first in three years.
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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WOOD-TV - Channel 8
(July 8, 2003, 5:05 p.m.) Scott Alan Woodring, the man who kept police at bay in Fremont, is 40 years old. He is perhaps best known to many in the Fremont area for his stringent anti-government views.
Woodring's family describe him as a "non-violent" member of the Michigan militia and said that he does not trust the government. His family says he prepared heavily for Y2K and has stock piles of food and supplies in the house.
Reports indicate his only income was from a paper route. In 1996 he ran for Dayton Township Supervisor on an anti-government campaign. His family says he is religious and would spend hours studying the bible. His past criminal record includes receiving several tickets for not registering his car.
Late Sunday night authorities tried to serve an arrest warrant for soliciting sex from a minor.
His father was quoted as saying he didn't think his son would come out alive.
State police had said all along they wanted to end the standoff peacefully but were unaware of what Woodring had inside his home as far as weapons or explosives. Police had been engaging in so-called "scare tactics" such as using armored personnel carriers to circle the house, as well as detonation devices to keep their suspect on edge. Helicopters hovered day and night for surveillance and intimidation. Police never ruled out the use of force.
Woodring's family had wanted to negotiate directly with him. They said that's the only way to prevent further bloodshed.
Strange that this is buried, considering the propaganda headline.
He broke the law! He solicited a minor for sex and was presented with a warrant. Woodring *refused* the warrant and barricaded himself in his home while still maintaining he was innocent. Doesn't sound like the actions of an innocent man to me, let alone someone who is deeply religious. Now he's a cop killer as well. Sounds to me like Woodring *wants* to be made an example. He'll get his wish.
Whether he distrusts the government or not, if he is innocent, he could have simply accepted the warrant and had his innocence proven. For all the 'oh he's a good guy, a man of God' stuff I've read about him, he certainly isn't proving so with his actions. Sounds to me like he had a fall from grace, and rather than admitting it, he's going to go out guns a blazing. Nope. Doesn't sound like a man of God to me. Sounds more like a lunatic martyr.
This isn't in the story.
What's the source of your information?
I already posted the darned article to another thread, earlier this morning.
Now, what makes you think he was the "chaplain of the Michigan Militia"? That isn't mentioned in this article; I know because I read it.
So Tom Wayne is lying? I wonder what else he's lying about.
If the guy escaped, why assume the fire was started by anyone but him, as a distraction?
No, he was accused of this. People are innocent until proven guilty where I come from.
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R:
"Woodring *refused* the warrant and barricaded himself in his home while still maintaining he was innocent. Doesn't sound like the actions of an innocent man to me, let alone someone who is deeply religious."
He didn't trust the government not to waste him, which many people in this country don't. So that makes him automatically guilty? What a load of crap.
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r:
"Now he's a cop killer as well."
Did you even read the article ??? It looks like the cops killed one of their own officers when they botched the raid.
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r:
"Sounds to me like Woodring *wants* to be made an example. He'll get his wish."
He may be a guilty man trying to evade justice, or he may be a man unwilling to be shot down by trigger happy cops, like Randy Weaver's wife and many other people have been. The truth is that neither of us know what really happened.
Sorry, but you nothing of the kind. The way the Michigan State Police are waffling on that point, it's pretty clear to me that another officer killed Trooper Marshal. Otherwise, they'd be falling all over themselves to pin it on Woodring.
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