BRANCH COUNTY — No charges will be filed against any officer involved in the Aug. 6, 2023 shooting death of 30-year-old David Algarin, Jr., the suspect in a Sturgis double homicide.
Based on an intensive Michigan State Police investigation, Branch County Prosecutor Zack Stempien said officers were justified under state and federal law in using deadly force to kill David Algarin Jr. “due to the immediate extreme threat posed” as he refused to leave his car with his gun aimed at officers.
During a high-speed chase through eastern St. Joseph County and into Branch County, Algarin talked on his cell phone to his mother.
Algarin told his mother he was not going back to prison, according to Stempien's report. He admitted to her he killed two people the night before but told her, “He did not mean to kill the victim,” the report stated.
Stacey Mae Ramsey, 38, was shot in the road in the area of South Centreville Road and South Street around 10:40 p.m. on Aug. 5 and died at the hospital.
Witnesses reported to 911 Algarin returned to the shooting scene and hit the woman with his vehicle.
St. Joseph County deputies later found Jerry Odell Longacre, 61, shot to death at the Sweet Lake mobile home park.
In a detailed analysis of the MSP investigation, Stempien reported that on the afternoon of Aug. 6, Flock license plate cameras alerted St. Joseph County 911 Algarin was heading west from Sturgis.
Three St. Joseph County deputies began a pursuit east into Branch County, where deputies tried to disable his car with stop sticks.
During the pursuit, Algarin drove at speeds over 90 mph and repeatedly drove in the wrong lane of traffic toward oncoming vehicles.
As they headed west on M-86 toward Colon, where the annual Magic Festival filled the village streets, the deputies attempted to force Algarin off the road.
A second maneuver near Ambs Road at the county line caused Algarin to spin into a wheat field.
The report said as Algarin tried to drive away. A patrol car rammed his car.
Ordered to get out with his hands up, officers saw Algarin with a gun in his lap, which he raised and aimed toward two officers as they exited their patrol cars.
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Eighteen gunshots struck Algarin in the head, neck, and torso, killing him.
Algarin’s gun remained in his hand, aimed at the officers.
Stempien noted the deputies involved were removed from the scene and their weapons seized per protocol.
Michigan State Police conducted an independent investigation, collecting evidence and sending it to the Michigan State Police Crime Lab for analysis.
An autopsy found Algarin's cause of death as gunshot wounds to the head, neck, and torso. There was THC and Methamphetamine in Algarin’s blood.
Bullet fragments found during the autopsy did not allow ballistics to reach a definite conclusion, which officer fired the fatal rounds.
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Stempien said he based his conclusion on, “The evidence gathered on the scene, documented for review by MSP, very clearly shows that Algarin was a credible and significant threat at the time of the shooting.”
— Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Prosecutor: No charges after deputies stop, kill homicide suspect
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