The News Room [News Release]
Sheriff Contact: John Roach: 313-213-5162
Release Date: Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Deputies chase down murder suspect after coming upon Highland Park shooting
- Sheriff says Pre-Angel's Night presence put officers in position for arrest
Wayne County Sheriff’s narcotics officers working a special pre-Angel’s Night enforcement detail in Highland Park got more than they bargained for on Sunday: a foot chase and a murder suspect fleeing the scene of the shooting, Sheriff Warren C. Evans said today.
At approximately 4:00 PM, after dropping off a prisoner to the Sheriff’s Highland Park lockup, Ofcs. Stephan Karpuk and Ken Cowan were driving along Manchester near Second Avenue when they heard several gunshots ring out, Evans said. They saw a crowd of people scatter and two men lying on the ground, both bleeding. One of the victims, Christopher Jones, 30, of Highland Park, was pronounced dead by hospital staff and the other, Charles Dixon, 35, of Detroit, remains in critical condition. Witness say the suspect and Jones had been arguing over a bicycle.
As Karpuk exited the vehicle, a witness pointed in the direction of a man fleeing the scene and shouting that he was the gunman. Karpuk began chasing the suspect on foot, while Cowan remained with the vehicle and returned to render aid to the victims. Several blocks away, Karpuk caught up with the suspect, at 21-year-old Highland Park man with an extensive juvenile criminal history and a pending armed robbery warrant out of Detroit and arrested him.
Evans said officers also retrieved a Mac-10 semi-automatic pistol believed to be used in the shooting, along with several articles of clothing the suspect had discarded in a nearby field.
Evans said that the arrest likely would not have been made so quickly, if at all, were it not for the presence of additional deputies in Highland Park preparing the city for a safe Angels Night and Halloween. Evans had assigned additional officers to Highland Park as part of a massive cleanup, which included increased patrols, narcotics and prostitution enforcement and fugitive apprehension. Evans’ plan was to take as many trouble makers as possible off the streets in the days leading up to Angel’s Night, then flood the city with uniform and civilian patrols.
“This incident shows the direct correlation between a high police presence and effectively responding to crimes in progress,” said Evans, who praised Officers Karpuk and Cowan for their quick and professional response to the situation.
The suspect is being held at the Wayne County Jail and is expected to be arraigned tomorrow.
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