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Prosecutor: No charges after troopers kill man at Berrien Co. motel

Posted at 10:58 AM, Feb 25, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-25 10:58:08-05

BENTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A prosecutor says no charges will be brought after state troopers fatally shot a man during a November standoff at a motel in southwestern Michigan.

Berrien County Prosecutor Michael Sepic announced the decision Thursday following a review of police reports, lab reports and autopsy results.

Police say Marcus Meridy was fatally shot Nov. 18 after firing at police. Meridy had abducted his estranged wife at her job before the standoff.

Sepic says two troopers fired six rounds each, striking Meridy nine times. Sepic says police acted appropriately.

The 44-year-old Meridy took his wife at gunpoint from an assisted-living center in St. Joseph where she worked and brought her to the American Inn in Benton Township. Police negotiated with the Benton Harbor man for about an hour before shots were exchanged.