Police & Fire: Man killed in crash; woman holds thief at gunpoint

Trace Christenson | Battle Creek Enquirer

FATAL CRASH: A 33-year-old man, James Thompson of Salida, Colorado was killed after his vehicle struck another which had hit a deer. Michigan State Police at Marshall reported the crash on southbound Interstate 69 near M-60 in Calhoun County's Tekonsha Township at 9:46 p.m. Monday. Troopers said one vehicle struck a deer and was disabled and the two people inside, Yong Wang, 44, of Homestead, Fla., and Xiu Lin, 43, of New York, N.Y. left the vehicle and walked off the highway. The second vehicle struck the first one and then went off the roadway and hit a tree. Thompson was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The crash remains under investigation. Troopers said they were assisted by the Marshall Fire and Ambulance and Tekonsha Fire Department.

THIEF CAUGHT: A 28-year-old Battle Creek man was arrested on a charge of larceny from a vehicle after Battle Creek police said he was caught and held at gunpoint by the female owner of the pickup. Police were called at 4:11 a.m. Monday to the 100 block of North Union Street and found a 33-year-old woman in a red flowered bathrobe holding the man at gunpoint. She said was just getting up and preparing for work when she saw a light on in her pickup and saw a man inside. She picked up her handgun and phone and confronted the man. She said he threw some change into the yard but stayed in the driveway at gunpoint until officers arrived. He declined to talk with officers.

STOLEN CAR: A 38-year-old Battle Creek man was arrested after Battle Creek police said he stole a 2000 Cadillac Escalade from a gas station parking lot at 10:50 a.m. Sunday. Police were called to the BP station at 5195 Beckley Road after a 40-year-old man said his car had been taken. The man said he worked at the Subway sandwich shop at the station and had gone outside to smoke a cigarette and stepped away from the car with the door open and the keys inside. He said a man, who had been in the station returning bottles, then drove away in the car. Police saw the car on Helmer Road near Gethings Road and followed it until he was stopped. The man admitted to stealing the car.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: Battle Creek police have reported the following cases:

• A man, 23, was arrested after his girlfriend, 20, said she was assaulted in the first block of Harrison Street at 1:50 p.m. Sunday.

• A warrant is being sought for a man, 17, after his mother, 37, said she was assaulted in the 100 block of Fountain Street at 2:21 p.m. Sunday.

Call Silent Observer at 269-964-3888 or text CRIMES (274637) SOTIP or see www.crimereports.com with information about crimes.