MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — A Muskegon County district court judged ruled Wednesday felony weapons charges against a Muskegon Heights man can move on to a trial in circuit court.
Michael Deshawn Curry is charged with possession of a firearm by a felon and felony firearm and carrying a concealed weapon. He's charged as a habitual offender - fourth offense.
Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson tells 13 ON YOUR SIDE Curry is one of two men he believes were involved in a shooting that injured a Muskegon Heights officer on Oct. 23.
The shooting happened along Delano Avenue between seventh and Ninth streets shortly after 9 p.m. after the officer attempted to pull over the driver of a truck for disobeying road closed signs.
When the driver failed to stop for the officer, a police chase ensued. Within moments of the radio call to dispatch, police say the occupants of the truck began shooting at the officer.
The officer's car was hit by gunfire during the pursuit. The tuck reached 8th Street and Delano Avenue when a Michigan State Police detective says the passenger in the truck exited and began firing additional shots at the officer's vehicle.
RELATED: Second man sought in shooting that injured Muskegon Heights officer found in Chicago suburb
Detectives have recovered surveillance video that shows a portion of the pursuit and the moment the passenger exits the truck.
"That individual appears to be leveraging a rifle, or some type of large caliber weapon," Detective Dillard Hayes with M.S.P. testified Wednesday during the preliminary hearing. "And you can see several rounds being fired towards the officer's patrol car."
Hayes went on to testify that Curry's cell phone and bank card were located in the truck. Police recovered two guns from inside the truck, and two guns left near the shooting scene. Curry was arrested shortly after the shooting about two-blocks from where the shots were fired.
The officer was officer's arm was hit with shrapnel, he also suffered a minor injury to his cheek but was able to drive himself to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Investigators are working to determine if Curry was a passenger in the truck or the driver. A second suspect was arrested in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois about one-week after the shooting.
30-year-old Ray Julius Jackson is charged with unlawful driving away, felon in possession of a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon. He's being held by the Michigan Department of Corrections for a parole violation.
"Whether he was the driver or the passenger we're still trying to sort that out," Hilson said. "And ultimately it may not even make a difference, it may just be a situation where both are equally culpable. I want to continue to investigate and make sure that when we do make a charging decision as to who the actual shooter was that we get it right."
Curry is being held in the Muskegon County Jail on a $250,000 cash or surety bond. A date for Jackson's preliminary has not been set.
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