Trace Christenson

Battle Creek Enquirer

SPRINGFIELD - A 50-year-old armed robbery suspect is expected to recover after he was shot by a Calhoun County Sheriff Department sergeant Wednesday.

Derrick T. Shirk was shot while advancing toward the sergeant while holding a handgun and refusing commands to stop, Sheriff Matt Saxton said.

Shirk was shot twice in the torso. He was taken to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo and is expected to recover, Saxton said.

Shirk was holding an airsoft gun with the orange tip removed, Saxton said, and he pointed the realistic-looking handgun at the deputy and would not put it down. Saxton said the sergeant had retreated to behind his patrol vehicle before he opened fire. The sergeant was not injured.

"The suspect jumped out and ran into a garage on the premises and came back out of the garage holding a handgun," Saxton said. "The sergeant gave loud verbal commands to drop the handgun and the handgun was raised and the sergeant fired his service weapon, striking the suspect twice in the torso."

Saxton said the handgun appeared to be real.

"The gun had none of the toy gun markings and the orange tip was gone and it did appear to be a real firearm at the time of the incident and it appears to be a real gun at a quick view of it," he said.

After the shooting Saxton said Shirk, who also is a parole absconder, asked the deputy, "Why didn't you kill me?"

The shooting occurred in the driveway at 328 N. 30th Street after a short pursuit.

Shirk is a suspect in Sunday's armed robbery of a Citgo gas station at 2410 W. Michigan Ave. in Bedford Township. A man entered the store and fled in a pickup truck with cash. A clerk told Battle Creek police the gun he displayed might have been a toy or airsoft handgun.

Saxton said investigators had developed information about a possible suspect in that robbery including a pickup truck that witnesses saw the robber driving away from the scene and Battle Creek police had posted some of that information on the department's Facebook page.

Just before noon Wednesday, deputies received a tip that a similar pickup was seen on Avenue A, Saxton said, but officers were unable to find it.

About 12:35 p.m. the sergeant reported he saw the truck on Upton Avenue and began the pursuit with his emergency lights and siren activated.

The driver fled and pulled into the driveway of the house on 30th Street with the sergeant following. The man refused commands to stop and lie on the pavement and instead went into a detached garage through a side door, Saxton said. A few moments later the man emerged and with the gun raised began approaching the officer.

The sergeant gave three commands to stop before opening fire, Saxton said.

Police at the scene said the deputy fired as many as 14 times from his semi-automatic handgun.

"The deputy followed his training and the suspect did not follow commands," Saxton said.

A second deputy arrived as the shooting occurred, Saxton said, and Battle Creek police also converged on the area.

A neighbor said after the shooting that the man who was shot is the boyfriend of the homeowner, Becky Culp.

"There was a man driving (her) vehicle and it was her boyfriend of the last couple of weeks," said Peggy McNeil. "I thought it was somebody pounding metal. Well, evidently the police were chasing this guy in the pickup truck. There were 12 cop cars here within minutes. We've never seen anything like this. This is a quiet, quiet street and Becky is a very nice lady, a very quiet lady."

Police said no one else was in the home at the time.

The Battle Creek Police Department is conducting the investigation into the shooting while the sheriff department conducts its own investigation, Saxton said.

The sergeant, 48, who has been employed by the department since 2002, will be assigned to nonlaw-enforcement duties until the investigation is complete.

Michigan State Police also assisted and Prosecutor David Gilbert and Chief Assistant Prosecutor Dan Buscher also came to the scene.

Shirk was listed as a parole absconder on Dec. 1. He entered a non contest plea to breaking and entering in Calhoun County Circuit Court and sentenced March 1, 2012 to two years to 10 years in prison.

He also has prior convictions of prison escape in both Calhoun and Washtenaw counties, armed robbery in Calhoun County in 1986, and breaking and entering in 1983 and 1982.

Detective Sgt. Troy Gilleylen of the Battle Creek Police Department said detectives expect to interview Shirk about the weekend gas station robbery and he could be charged with armed robbery in that case.

Enquirer reporter Dillon Davis contributed to this report. ​Contact Trace Christenson at 966-0685 or tchrist@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TSChristenson