Internal investigation says Berrien County deputies acted accordingly in police pursuit
Published 9:20 am Tuesday, April 24, 2018
BERRIEN COUNTY — The Berrien County Sheriff’s Department has completed an internal review following a police pursuit April 15, that ended in a fatal car crash north of Rockey Weed Road.
The identities of the three Benton Harbor men killed in the crash include: driver, Jamahri Jayshaun Fuller, 20; right front passenger, Davion Marquez Patton, 17 and rear passenger, Allan Trevon-James Velox, 17. A fourth passenger, Anton Duran Morgan, 17, was last reported to be in critical condition at Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids.
The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office conducted an internal review of the facts and circumstances of the April 15, incident involving a vehicle that was evading police after a breaking and entering and theft of firearms from the Black Arsenal Gun Store.
Upon completion of the internal review, which included a review of the in-car video of the incident, the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office found no wrong doing on the part of the two deputies involved in this incident, authorities said. The deputies had been place on paid administrative leave, per protocol. Based on these findings, the two deputies were returned to work Monday.
The Michigan State Police is still completing their portion of the investigation which will still be forwarded to the Berrien County Prosecutors Office, which is standard procedure in incidents of this nature.
The names of the two Berrien County Sheriff’s Office Deputies involved in this incident will not be release until the Berrien County Prosecutors Office has completed their review of this incident.
The pursuit began when the suspects were alleged to have stolen firearms from the Black Arsenal Gun Store.
The Lincoln Township Police Department confirmed last week that there were eight firearms stolen from the gun store and all eight firearms were recovered at the scene of the crash. There were three pistols, one shotgun and five rifles.
A caller reported seeing the suspects in a gold SUV.
At approximately 5:26 a.m., the Berrien County Sheriff’s Deputy observed a vehicle matching this description on I-94 eastbound near the 27-mile marker. The deputy activated his emergency lighting and a traffic stop was initiated. The suspect vehicle pulled to the side of the roadway. After coming to a stop, the vehicle then sped off eastbound on I-94. The deputy then pursued the vehicle with his emergency lighting and siren activated. The pursuit continued eastbound on I-94 where the vehicle exited at M-139 and turned southbound toward Scottsdale. The vehicle continued southbound on M-139 where it lost control north of Rockey Weed Road and crashed into a large tree.
Officials said the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office continues to keep the friends and families of the victims in our thoughts and prayers.