IONIA COUNTY, Mich. - A break-up gone bad has ended with an Ionia man behind bars.
Sheriff's deputies say they stopped 36-year-old Jason Proper before he could act on the hundreds of threats he made to harm his ex-girlfriend.
Deputies say Jason Proper had the means and motive to carry out his threats to kill his ex-girlfriend and the people she worked with.
“The girl, the victim, was receiving multiple threats of shooting her, killing her,” Ionia County Lieutenant Andrew Bucholtz said.
Proper is in custody on five felony counts, including aggravated stalking, after a bombardment of calls, texts, emails, and social media messages in just a few hours. Scared, the victim called police. The messages included threats to people she worked with in Grand Rapids.
“Thanks to working together, we were able to avert a very very bad situation, right here in our hometown,” Bucholtz said.
Bucholtz says when the victim didn't answer Proper's calls, the threats started to expand to people she worked with and her employer.
Deputies spotted Proper and he led them on a chase. He was arrested near the home he was staying at with friends.
“If he was allowed to continue on in the public, there was a huge concern that he would have continued on these threats,” Bucholtz said.
Proper isn't a stranger to the law. State police records show a prior conviction on a similar charge before: stalking.
Lieutenant Bucholtz says this is an important reminder to everyone to take threats seriously.
Proper is being held on a $250,000 bond.
