KENTWOOD, Mich. (WOOD) — A judge has ruled there is enough evidence to send a former Michigan State Police detective sergeant to trial for murder after he hit a man with his cruiser, killing him, during a chase in metro Grand Rapids earlier this year.
“This court finds that there is probable cause to bind the defendant over to the circuit court on both counts charged,” Kent County District Court Judge Amanda Sterkenburg announced during a short hearing Thursday.
Judge says there is evidence to send ex-MSP Sgt’s murder case to trial
Sterkenburg heard testimony last week but said she needed time to review evidence, particularly the video of the crash that led to Sterling’s death, before issuing her decision.
On April 17, authorities were working to arrest Sterling on many active warrants. They tracked him to a gas station in Kentwood, where he got out of his car and they moved in to get him. Police say Sterling ran away. Officers chased him on foot to a nearby Burger King while Keely pursued in an unmarked cruiser. Video released by MSP shows Sterling being hit by Keely’s SUV near the restaurant’s entrance. Sterling was hospitalized and died hours later.
“There is no dispute that defendant Keely was driving a motor vehicle in pursuit of the decedent on April 17, 2024, that he struck the decedent with his vehicle or that the decedent’s death came as a result of the injuries sustained in that collision,” Sterkenburg said.
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office, which is prosecuting the case, argues there is evidence Keely steered his SUV toward Sterling and that he “knowingly created a very high risk of death or great bodily harm.”
But Keely has said he didn’t mean to hit Sterling and instead just meant to block him from getting into the Burger King. His attorneys say the evidence shows he was braking when the crash happened, which they say is evidence he did not mean to kill Sterling.
Sterkenburg acknowledged there is “conflicting evidence” on whether Keely acted with malice.
“Malice is a legal term that does not require the defendant to intend the harm that occurred. In the absence of intent to kill or do great bodily harm, the malice element is satisfied where the defendant knowingly created a very high risk of death or great bodily harm,” the judge said.
“I believe that a person of ordinary prudence might find that the pursuit of an individual on foot by a 4,000-pound automobile creates a strong likelihood of harm,” she continued. “And then watching the videos and hearing the testimony, other specifics here weigh in favor of this finding. Most notably, there was testimony that the defendant turned the wheel of his vehicle sharply towards the defendant in the last seconds before impact. Further, the angle of approach can be observed in the videos as almost parallel and directly behind the fleeing decedent, such that one could infer that the defendant knew his vehicle could not advance in front of the suspect to block his flight without making contact.”
She also pointed out that Keely drove past another officer who stopped chasing Sterling in his cruiser and got out to run after him.
“There was testimony that no weapon was observed on the decedent during the pursuit and the decedent used no force,” she added. “No other officers continued in vehicle pursuit, therefore there does not appear to be justification for the defendant’s conduct.”Expert: Pros, cons for MSP sgt. if murder case moved to federal court
In reference to the manslaughter charge, she said there was evidence Keely may have acted with negligence, saying he could have made other choices during the pursuit that could have prevented the crash.
But the judge also acknowledged there are arguments to be presented to a jury about the speed of Keely’s SUV, braking, the effect of wet pavement on the crash and whether he was warranted in his belief that Sterling could threaten or harm someone in the Burger King.
In a statement, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said she was “pleased to see this matter move forward and hope it will proceed expeditiously to trial.”
“Public integrity is a top priority for my Department and we remain committed to striving for a just resolution in each case we handle,” she stated.
Following a Wednesday hearing in Lansing, U.S. District Court Judge Hala Jarbou is mulling whether to grant a motion filed by Keely’s defense team to move the case to federal court. The defense argues the case falls under federal jurisdiction because Keely was working as part of a U.S. Marshals task force on the day Sterling died, while prosecutors say he was never a federal agent and the case should be handled in state courts.
Remember folks, this usual suspect had these six active warrants: Two violent felony warrants, one for carrying a concealed weapon linked to a domestic incident involving a handgun and threats in Kentwood in 2023, and the other for domestic assault and larceny out of Grand Rapids; two for probation violations; and two misdemeanor bench warrants.
He had violent felony warrants. The U.S. Marshalls Task Force isn’t called in because this fine citizen is an honor roll student like his family is portraying. He’s a violent felon that was trying to be apprehended.
Radical left AG Nessar’s office is trying to make this case about Keely intentionally trying to kill him. A jury won’t buy it.