Latest news with #17thCircuitCourt
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
Jury says it is deadlocked in trial of former Grand Rapids police officer
Former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr seen on a courthouse monitor, as he stands trial on second-degree murder charges in the death of Patrick Lyoya. May, 2, 2025 | Sarah Leach GRAND RAPIDS – Shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday, the jury in the second-degree murder trial of a white ex-Grand Rapids police officer who fatally shot a Black motorist following a 2022 traffic stop, notified 17th Circuit Court Judge Christina Mims that they were unable to reach a verdict after deliberating for about 10 hours since Monday afternoon. Mims provided jurors with additional instructions and told them to continue deliberations. 'Remember, it is your duty to consult with your fellow jurors and try to reach agreement, if you can do so without violating your own judgment,' she said. 'Naturally, there will be differences of opinion. You should each not only express your opinion, but also give the facts and the reasons on which you base it by reasoning the matter out, jurors can often reach agreement.' When a jury is deadlocked, or unable to reach a verdict, the judge will typically declare a mistrial. That would return the case to its pre-trial state, allowing the prosecution to decide whether to retry the case or drop the charges. Jury deliberations entered a second day Tuesday in Kent County's 17th Circuit Court in the trial of Christopher Schurr, now 34, who could face up to life in prison if convicted for the shooting death of 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya. Schurr pulled Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant, over for having a license plate that didn't match the car he was driving on April 4, 2022. When Lyoya couldn't produce a driver's license, Schurr attempted to place him under arrest. The motorist then ran and Schurr tackled him to the ground. Schurr then attempted to tase Lyoya, but was too close and the motorist deflected the probes. The two then wrestled briefly over the Taser when the officer pulled out his handgun and fatally shot Lyoya in the back of the head. Prosecutors have argued that Schurr made several questionable decisions during the incident, including opting to chase Lyoya, which put his back to the pulled-over vehicle that still had an unidentified passenger in the front seat. The passenger, Aime Tuyishme, testified early last week that he got out of Lyoya's car after the officer tackle his friend; he then pulled out his cellphone to record the incident, which became a key piece of evidence during the trial. Prosecution experts also criticized Schurr's decision to deploy the Taser within an arm's length of Lyoya — the close proximity allowed the motorist to prevent proper deployment and created a struggle over the device. They also said the shooting was unjustified, as Lyoya was face down on the ground with Schurr atop him when the shooting took place. 'Patrick did some dumb, bad things, but the defendant did some things, too. There are critical mistakes that occurred — that a reasonable officer wouldn't make these decisions,' Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said in his closing argument Monday. Schurr's defense team has maintained that the officer genuinely feared for his life when Lyoya was able to gain possession of the Taser. Although he was lying on the ground facing away, Schurr, who took the stand Friday, said Lyoya was pushing himself back up and was attempting to turn around, prompting Schurr to use deadly force. 'At some point, I thought he was going to turn on me and use it on me,' Schurr said. 'If I had waited for him to point (the Taser) at me, it would be too late. I thought I was gonna die.' Defense experts testified during the six-day trial that Schurr was in a high-stress situation that quickly physically depleted him and affected his decision-making abilities. GRPD officers who trained Schurr while he was with the department said any officer in a similar situation would have made the same decision. 'I think a reasonable officer would perform the same way in the same situation,' GRPD Captain David Siver testified Wednesday. Schurr was fired from the Grand Rapids Police Department after he was charged in the shooting in June 2022. In December 2022, Lyoya's family filed a $100 million civil lawsuit in federal court against the city of Grand Rapids and Schurr. In August 2023, a judge dismissed the case against the city, but allowed the litigation to proceed against Schurr. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
Jury says it is deadlocked in trial of former Grand Rapids police officer
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways Former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr seen on a courthouse monitor, as he stands trial on second-degree murder charges in the death of Patrick Lyoya. May, 2, 2025 | Sarah Leach GRAND RAPIDS – Shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday, the jury in the second-degree murder trial of a white ex-Grand Rapids police officer who fatally shot a Black motorist following a 2022 traffic stop, notified 17th Circuit Court Judge Christina Mims that they were unable to reach a verdict after deliberating for about 10 hours since Monday afternoon. Mims provided jurors with additional instructions and told them to continue deliberations. 'Remember, it is your duty to consult with your fellow jurors and try to reach agreement, if you can do so without violating your own judgment,' she said. 'Naturally, there will be differences of opinion. You should each not only express your opinion, but also give the facts and the reasons on which you base it by reasoning the matter out, jurors can often reach agreement.' When a jury is deadlocked, or unable to reach a verdict, the judge will typically declare a mistrial. That would return the case to its pre-trial state, allowing the prosecution to decide whether to retry the case or drop the charges. Jury deliberations entered a second day Tuesday in Kent County's 17th Circuit Court in the trial of Christopher Schurr, now 34, who could face up to life in prison if convicted for the shooting death of 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya. Schurr pulled Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant, over for having a license plate that didn't match the car he was driving on April 4, 2022. When Lyoya couldn't produce a driver's license, Schurr attempted to place him under arrest. The motorist then ran and Schurr tackled him to the ground. Schurr then attempted to tase Lyoya, but was too close and the motorist deflected the probes. The two then wrestled briefly over the Taser when the officer pulled out his handgun and fatally shot Lyoya in the back of the head. Prosecutors have argued that Schurr made several questionable decisions during the incident, including opting to chase Lyoya, which put his back to the pulled-over vehicle that still had an unidentified passenger in the front seat. The passenger, Aime Tuyishme, testified early last week that he got out of Lyoya's car after the officer tackle his friend; he then pulled out his cellphone to record the incident, which became a key piece of evidence during the trial. Prosecution experts also criticized Schurr's decision to deploy the Taser within an arm's length of Lyoya — the close proximity allowed the motorist to prevent proper deployment and created a struggle over the device. They also said the shooting was unjustified, as Lyoya was face down on the ground with Schurr atop him when the shooting took place. 'Patrick did some dumb, bad things, but the defendant did some things, too. There are critical mistakes that occurred — that a reasonable officer wouldn't make these decisions,' Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said in his closing argument Monday. Schurr's defense team has maintained that the officer genuinely feared for his life when Lyoya was able to gain possession of the Taser. Although he was lying on the ground facing away, Schurr, who took the stand Friday, said Lyoya was pushing himself back up and was attempting to turn around, prompting Schurr to use deadly force. 'At some point, I thought he was going to turn on me and use it on me,' Schurr said. 'If I had waited for him to point (the Taser) at me, it would be too late. I thought I was gonna die.' Defense experts testified during the six-day trial that Schurr was in a high-stress situation that quickly physically depleted him and affected his decision-making abilities. GRPD officers who trained Schurr while he was with the department said any officer in a similar situation would have made the same decision. 'I think a reasonable officer would perform the same way in the same situation,' GRPD Captain David Siver testified Wednesday. Schurr was fired from the Grand Rapids Police Department after he was charged in the shooting in June 2022. In December 2022, Lyoya's family filed a $100 million civil lawsuit in federal court against the city of Grand Rapids and Schurr. In August 2023, a judge dismissed the case against the city, but allowed the litigation to proceed against Schurr. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
What to know as Schurr murder trial in Lyoya police killing enters 2nd week
The murder trial of former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr will stretch into a second week, as defense attorneys will continue arguments when the trial resumes Monday, May 5. Throughout the first week of the trial in Kent County 17th Circuit Court, Schurr's defense attorneys have argued Schurr followed his police training and was justified in fatally shooting Patrick Lyoya in 2022. Prosecutors, however, say Schurr used excessive force. If convicted, Schurr faces up to life in prison. Schurr was patrolling the southeast side of Grand Rapids on the morning of April 4, 2022, when he pulled over Lyoya for a traffic stop. Lyoya later tried to run away from Schurr, who chased after him and tackled him in a nearby front lawn. As the two struggled, Lyoya attempted to grab the Taser, footage released by the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) and played in court shows. Just before Schurr fatally shot Lyoya in the back of the head, he yelled, 'Let go of the Taser,' footage shows. Since the trial began April 28, a 12-person jury, with two alternates, has heard hours of testimony from witnesses, including investigators, police officers, law enforcement policy experts and Schurr himself. Here are takeaways from the first week of the trial. Schurr's Taser, which he had attempted to deploy on Lyoya, has been the focus of much of the defense's argument. In his testimony, Schurr said Lyoya grabbing the Taser made him fear Lyoya could deploy it on him, which prompted him to shoot Lyoya. But prosecutors have disagreed. Becker, throughout the trial, has noted both the Taser's cartridges were deployed, meaning that its effects could only be used in a "drive stun" manner, where the end of the Taser is pressed up against a person. Prosecutors argued that Lyoya would not have known how to perform a drive stun without training. Schurr testified his training, both with the GRPD and in a police academy prior to joining the department in 2015, indicated that being disarmed of a weapon meant a subject could deploy it against the officer. Schurr said he feared Lyoya would have access to his firearm if the officer was incapacitated by the Taser. Schurr also testified he only remembered deploying the Taser once, and didn't know the second probe had been deployed. How jurors view the Taser could play a significant role in their ultimate verdict. Schurr, legally, was under no obligation to testify in his own defense, but said he chose to do so anyways. 'I feel like it's important to get my side of the story out,' he said when he took the stand. Schurr testified he had followed the training he received upon joining the Grand Rapids Police Department in 2015 when he pulled Lyoya over — radioing in a traffic stop to dispatchers, radioing again when Lyoya took off on foot and then attempting to use knee strikes to subdue Lyoya after tackling him. When the knee strikes were ineffective, Schurr testified, he decided to escalate the amount of force he was using to try and subdue Lyoya, and deployed his Taser. It was after the Taser was ineffective that he shot Lyoya in the back of the head, he said. 'I believed that if I hadn't done it at that time, I wasn't going to go home,' Schurr said. Schurr's defense has largely centered around self-defense. Attorneys for the Lyoya family have disagreed —outside the courtroom, attorney Ben Crump told reporters the shooting was unnecessary. 'It is so important that you look at the video, you look at the actions of Patrick, always trying to get away, never posing any kind of aggressive action toward the officer,' Crump said. 'The whole time, he's trying to go away.' Both the prosecution and defense called witnesses to testify on policing practices, although each side's policing experts reached different conclusions on Schurr's conduct during his interaction with Lyoya. Seth Stoughton, a professor of criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, said Schurr put himself in 'officer-created jeopardy' when he chased after Lyoya. He also said Lyoya, who was facedown at the time of the shooting, was not in a position at the time to threaten Schurr. 'In terms of attack, there's very, very little that Mr. Lyoya could do to threaten the officer in this position,' Stoughton said. Prosecutors also called Nicholas Bloomfield, a retired police officer from New Mexico who compiled a report with Stoughton on the shooting. 'Not in any time in any of the evidence we reviewed did we (determine) Patrick Lyoya attempted to harm the officer in this instance,' Bloomfield testified. But witnesses called by the defense testified Schurr had followed his GRPD training (six defense witnesses called to testify were either current or retired Grand Rapids police officers). 'It was reasonable. A reasonable officer could perform in the same way in that situation,' said Capt. David Siver, a GRPD officer who testified. Since the trial began April 28, members of the jury have been shown footage of the shooting, from the time Schurr left his patrol car to the moments after Lyoya was killed, several times, including from multiple angles, and at multiple speeds. Footage of Lyoya's shooting had been publicly released in April 2022 by the Grand Rapids Police Department days after it occurred. The trial will resume May 5. The defense is expected to rest its case at some point early next week. After that, both sides will deliver closing arguments and the case will go to the jury to determine a verdict. Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Christopher Schurr trial: Jurors hear from experts in first week
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Yahoo
Christopher Schurr testifies in trial over Lyoya shooting, says he feared for his life
GRAND RAPIDS — Christopher Schurr, the former police officer charged with second-degree murder over the shooting of Patrick Lyoya in Grand Rapids in 2022, spoke publicly about it for the first time since Lyoya's death when he took the stand May 2 to testify in his own defense. Schurr told the jury in Kent County's 17th Circuit Court he was fearful for his life after a physical struggle with Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant who was 26 at the time of his death. He said Lyoya had attempted to grab his Taser. 'I believe if I didn't do what I did when I did it, I wouldn't be here today," he said. Toward the end of Schurr's direct testimony, he wiped his eyes and took deep breaths. Friday marked the fifth day of the trial. Schurr, now 34, was a Grand Rapids police officer when he tried to pull over Lyoya for a traffic stop due to the license plate not matching Lyoya's vehicle on April 4, 2022. Lyoya attempted to run away from Schurr, who chased after him and tackled him on a nearby front lawn. Schurr attempted to use a Taser on Lyoya but missed. As the two struggled, Lyoya attempted to grab the Taser, footage released by the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) and played in court shows. Just before Schurr fired his gun, he yelled, 'Let go of the Taser,' footage shows. Schurr testified he believed, based on his training and based on how Lyoya attempted to get away from him as he pursued him, that if Lyoya had gained possession of the Taser, he would have deployed it on Schurr. 'I shot him because I believed he was going to use it on me," Schurr said. Schurr did not have to testify in his own defense. "I feel like it's important to get my side of the story out," he said. Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker, who charged Schurr in June 2022, has argued Schurr used excessive force. Becker, throughout the trial, has noted both the Taser's cartridges were deployed, meaning that its effects could only be used in a "drive stun" manner, where the end of the Taser is pressed up against a person. Prosecutors argued that Lyoya would not have known how to perform a drive stun without training. Schurr testified his training, both with the GRPD and in a police academy prior to joining the department in 2015, indicated that being disarmed of a weapon meant a subject could deploy it against the officer. Schurr said he feared Lyoya would have access to his firearm if the officer was incapacitated by the Taser. Schurr was fired from the department shortly after being charged in June 2022. If convicted of second-degree murder, he faces up to life in prison. Defense attorneys have argued Schurr was acting in self-defense. Throughout the trial, the defense has called several current and retired GRPD officers to testify on how officers are trained. Defense witnesses have testified Schurr acted within his training when he shot Lyoya. 'It was reasonable. A reasonable officer could perform in the same way in that situation," GRPD Capt. David Siver testified April 30. Ben Crump, an attorney representing the Lyoya family in a separate civil lawsuit against Schurr, told media after Schurr's testimony that Lyoya was attempting to get away from the officer, and that Schurr lacked justification in shooting Lyoya. "We're praying for justice. The family believes that nothing justifies him shooting Patrick Lyoya in the back of his head," Crump said, standing with members of the Lyoya family. "It, at most, was a traffic stop. That should not equal a death sentence." Schurr was on the stand for close to three hours. Circuit Judge Christina Mims, who is presiding over the trial, has allowed the jury to submit questions for witnesses. Jurors questioned Schurr on GRPD policy, including if Schurr would have been justified in deploying his Taser as soon as Lyoya tried running away, rather than during the physical struggle. Schurr testified he did not want to deploy the Taser while Lyoya was running because he could have fallen on concrete and suffered injury. Testimony continues Friday afternoon. Outside the courthouse in downtown Grand Rapids, a handful of demonstrators gathered. Some carried thin blue line flags, which have become a common symbol of support for law enforcement. Others held signs calling for justice for Lyoya, and one waved a flag with "BLM" on it, a likely nod to the Black Lives Matter movement. Lyoya's death sparked protests over police brutality and racial injustice in Grand Rapids. Following the shooting, the GRPD instituted new policies, including de-escalation training and emphasizing the "sanctity of life." Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ex-officer Schurr testifies in murder trial over Lyoya shooting
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Yahoo
Public guardian accused of stealing $100,000 enters plea
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A West Michigan guardian who stole from people she was supposed to protect faces up to ten years in prison. Kimberley St. Onge pleaded no contest in a Kent County courtroom Thursday afternoon to three counts of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult between $20,000 and $50,000. St. Onge's attorney told a judge that her client pleaded no contest due to potential civil liability; a no contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but it's treated as such for sentencing purposes. Each of the three counts carries up to ten years in prison, and 17th Circuit Court Judge George J. Quist could order those sentences to run consecutively instead of concurrently, which is more common. Chihuahua killed in Grand Rapids park after structure fell on him 'Unfortunately, this woman took a lot of money from a lot of vulnerable people,' Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker told Target 8. 'Caused a lot of harm.' Becker said St. Onge stole more than $100,000 from 13 vulnerable adults for whom she served as guardian. St. Onge had no criminal record when she applied to become a public guardian through Kent County Probate Court. The guardianship program confirmed that St. Onge served in that role from May 2023 to May 2024. The program also confirmed that it runs criminal record, central registry and credit checks on all who apply to become guardians. According to a police report obtained by Target 8, St. Onge convinced the Social Security Office to put her name on one of her ward's benefit checks and mail it to her private P.O. Box. Grand Rapids Police reported that St. Onge also wrote checks to her own family on her wards' bank accounts, made unauthorized transfers and ATM withdrawals, and spent the money on gas, a hotel, Taco Bell and T-Mobile, among other purchases. Grieving families say estate sale manager owes thousands 'The real tragic part is they're not getting their money back,' said Becker. 'I mean, yeah, there will be a restitution order, and they'll be told they have to pay this, but when you're talking about this kind of money, it's not like they're putting it in a savings account. It's gone. We don't know where exactly the money went. It's not like (St. Onge) had a whole lot of assets.' Becker encourages people to watch out for each other, especially the most vulnerable among us. 'I always ask the people around the vulnerable people, be the eyes and ears,' explained Becker. 'If a vulnerable person has a guardian, they usually have some sort of mental incapacity, some short-term memory loss. They don't know what's happening. But if they're being isolated, that's the biggest thing, if they're isolated without any other contact with anybody else, that's when they're really susceptible to being a target and being victimized like this.' St. Onge is scheduled for sentencing in Kent County Circuit Court May 12. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
