A Michigan man who admitted to shooting a pro-life canvasser was charged by prosecutors after a weeklong investigation.
Richard Harvey claimed that he had fired off a warning shot and then “accidentally” shot the 84-year-old woman when he used the gun to bat her arms away. He and his wife also claimed that the woman was argumentative and refused to leave their property when asked numerous times.
She told prosecutors that she was walking away peacefully when she was shot.
On Friday, the Michigan State Police released a
statement about the charges against Harvey.
“Following an investigation by the Michigan State Police Lakeview Post, Ionia County Prosecutor, Kyle Butler, has issued a three-count warrant for Richard Alan Harvey, age 74, of Lake Odessa,” the statement read.
The man was charged with one count each of assault with a dangerous weapon – felonious assault, careless discharge of firearm causing injury, and reckless use of a firearm. The charges carry a sentence of four years in prison, two years in prison, and 90 days in jail, respectively, if he’s found guilty.
He was given a bond of $10,000.
Joan Jacobson, the woman who was shot, spoke to the Detroit News about her version of the incident. She said that Sharon Harvey got upset during their interaction and told her to leave the property. Jacobson said she was complying with the request and was going to her car when she got shot.
“I realized that I saw a man, and the man was standing right beside her,” Jacobson explained. “And the next thing I knew, I heard a shot and I felt some pain. I was just stunned. The pain was in my back, and it was very severe.”
Richard Harvey told WOOD-TV that he accidentally fired while batting away the clipboard in Jacobson’s hand.
“She’s waving it around. I’m thinking she’s going to smack Sharon with it. So without thinking, I went to club it away with the rifle and my finger was still in the trigger guard,” he said.
Jacobson said that doctors told her the bullet narrowly missed her spine and she was very lucky.
Here’s a local news report about the incident:
Man charged in shooting of pro-life canvasser in Ionia County
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