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.
It doesn't. Take for example the rancher who was shooting at the firefighters helicopter. The rancher was clearly wrong. But now look at what happened at Ruby Ridge, Klamath Falls, Ranch Rescue, Lubbock, Waco, ect...
When Houston cops arrested everyone in that Kmart parking lot last year, was that also a conspiracy?
No. But it was abuse of police power. Several people have lost their jobs over that one and the lawsuites are still running.
Cops and their superiors are human, and therefore, prone to error, just like the rest of us.
Now you are in for it. The Flying Monkeys will be around shortly for you daring to suggest that Law Enforcement officials would be anything other than completely trustworthy and ethical in the pursuit of their jobs.
Waco? I agree with you. This, however, is no Waco.
Okay, here you go....
hiahc, from post #8:
"He broke the law! He solicited a minor for sex and was presented with a warrant."
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hiahc:
"Well, if he'd only gone with the local police to the station when they showed up with a warrant, the "machine guns, helos, and armored vehicles" would never have arrived."
Every indication is that the cops showed up with all the heavy hardware when they served the warrant. You seem to think Barney Fife politely knocked on Woodring's front door, and was sprayed with bullets or something.
Again, we're talking about soliciting, a misdemeanor charge. We're also talking about a man that had already voluntarily appeared and given a statement to the police on the matter. Did the police call him and ask him to come down to the station again? Nope. They saw a chance for a publicity circus, the arrest of militia member with the SWAT team, helos and armored vehicles, and as a result of their lust for face time with the TV cameras, a state trooper is dead and a man accused of a misdemeanor is desperate and on the run.
Great succinct post. I completely agree with you, Vigilant1 & Dead Corpse, Please ping me further developments. Thanks.
CBJ
So that's why he decided to shoot at the police who arrived with a lawful warrant in hand, so as to retain his presumed innocence, huh? (sheesh - these ideologues must be employees of Handgun Control, Inc. for they appear to enjoy carrying water for them)
Cops and their superiors are human, and therefore, prone to error, just like the rest of us.Please don't go putting words in my mouth. I didn't suggest that they weren't trustworthy or ethical; I said they suffer from the same human fallibility that the rest of us do.Now you are in for it. The Flying Monkeys will be around shortly for you daring to suggest that Law Enforcement officials would be anything other than completely trustworthy and ethical in the pursuit of their jobs.
State Trooper Kevin Marshall, 33, died after he was shot as he and other State Police officers tried to enter the home Monday. Police said Woodring threatened police from Hesperia when they tried to serve him a felony warrant for soliciting a minor for immoral purposes.
http://www.freep.com/news/mich/stand9_20030709.htm
Well, from yesterday's reports:
You seem to think Barney Fife politely knocked on Woodring's front door, and was sprayed with bullets or something.Scott Woodring has been holding police at bay at his home on Osborn Avenue since Sunday night. Police say the standoff began when they tried to serve Woodring a warrant for solicitation of prostitution. Police removed Woodring's wife from the home, but he barricaded himself inside, warning early on he had a gun.
Police retreated, calling in reinforcement and heavy artillery. Negotiations soon followed, hours later police felt they had an opportunity to go into the home. Woodring was standing inside with a gun and shot at officers, grazing one of the men and fatally wounding Kevin Marshall.
That's exactly what it sounds like.
Thanks for the link.
============================================================
Everyone:
It's waaaay past my bedtime. Gotta sleep. Nitey-nite....
I think it depends on local law. It may be less than 48 hours in some places.
But why should they even do that, unless or until something happens to push the complaint beyond "he said, she said"? Something like, an additional witness who had been unreachable during the week?
If the crime was that serious that they would need to show up at his home with a TANK, they should have taken him into custody when he came in and gave a statement.
(sigh)
Okay, one more time. The ALLEGED CRIME was not why the armored vehicles were called in. Whether one thinks that "tanks" were a good idea or not, those vehicles only appeared as a result of him refusing to comply with an arrest warrant and barricading himself in his house.
Hesperia and Fremont both have tiny police departments, and I doubt they've even got a helicopter or a tank between them.
Eating beans and drinking canned milk for the past 3 years has finally got to him
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.
He hasn't read the parts about following governmental rules
Late Sunday night authorities tried to serve an arrest warrant for soliciting sex from a minor.
He certainly may be innocent. Our constitution grants him the right to due process. Not the right to barracade himself in his home and shoot at the guys with the warrant.
If he were arrested at the police station, then the police would not have been able to get into his house to serve the warrant. If he is arrested in the house, police can break into the house to serve the warrant, and can discover any incriminating evidence (guns, lots and lots of guns) in the process of serving the arrest warrant.
If he were arrested anywhere else, they would have to obtain a separate search warrant to search the house. If the case against him (just speculating now) is weak, they would probably not be able to get a search warrant, leaving all of those pretty guns unsiezed.
Now, I'm trying to remember, it's shiny side out, right?
** ping **
In spite of the best efforts of Mr. Woodring, the Constitution, the rule of law, and civilization are alive and well. Wish we could say the same for Officer Marshall.
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.
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.
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