(WWJ) A Lansing man who was shot by a Michigan State Police trooper after authorities say he crash a stolen SUV and pointed a gun at officers will spend five years in prison.
Gregory McDowell, Jr., 47, pleaded guilty in 30th Circuit Court to a charge of felony firearm - second offense.
According to a news release by the Michigan Attorney General's Office on Wednesday, the plea agreement includes a mandatory sentence of five years behind bars.
At the time of the incident in August of 2021, the AG says a police task force was looking for McDowell who had a warrant out for his arrest on an attempted murder charge, and for absconing from probation.
The afternoon of Aug. 26, officials said Lansing Police officers spotted McDowell driving recklessly in a stolen tan Cadillac Escalade. McDowell crashed the vehicle into several other cars near Sparrow Behavioral Health Center, and then ran away.
Investigators said McDowell was in a parking lot at the facility when he was spotted by Sparrow employees who reported seeing a man with a gun who was acting erratically.
A team of uniformed law enforcement officers, including two MSP troopers, approached McDowell who was found hiding under a Sparrow security vehicle. One of the MSP troopers told McDowell multiple times to drop his weapon, the AG says, but McDowell failed to comply.
The second MSP trooper on scene tried to calm the situation, but McDowell still did not comply, according to authoties.
When it's alleged that McDowell crawled out from under the car with the gun in his hand and pointed it toward the officers, an MSP trooper shot him multiple times,
After an investigation, it was determined that the trooper who fired the shots "used reasonable force," and no criminal charges were filed, the AG's office said.
McDowell was hospitalized in serious condition following the shooting, but survived his injuries.
His sentencing is scheduled for February 15, 2023, in Ingham County Circuit Court.
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