Bryan Bigham with his fiancee, Robyn Coliete, and her daughter, Layla. (Photo courtesy of Robyn Coliete.)

OSHTEMO TOWNSHIP - A 23-year-old man who shot and killed his neighbor last year won't face charges for the homicide because prosecutors say he acted in self-defense when he pulled the trigger.

Kalamazoo County sheriff's investigators have said previously that Brandon Groetsema told deputies he shot Bryan Joseph Bigham, 27, of Kalamazoo, on Oct. 6, 2015, after Bigham charged at him inside a mobile home park in the 4600 block of Red Leaf Street in Oshtemo Township.

Investigators said the fatal shooting occurred after Groetsema intervened in a domestic dispute between Bigham and Bigham's girlfriend.

"The OPA (Office of the Prosecuting Attorney) believes that there is no reasonable probability of conviction under the tragic set of circumstances which occurred during the early morning hours of Oct. 6, 2015," Getting said in a news release issued by his office. "The available evidence in this case supports Mr. Groetsema's claim of self deense. A fair and honest evaluation of the available evidence leads the OPA to conclude that we cannot exclude the possibility of self defense beyond a reasonable doubt."

In reaching his decision, Getting cited sections of Michigan law regarding self-defense. Getting said in a news release that a state law regarding the use of deadly force in self-defense and the defense of others "allow a person to use deadly force against another anywhere he or she has a legal right to be with no duty to retreat" if that person honestly and reasonably believes that the use of the deadly force is necessary to prevent imminent death or imminent great bodily harm.

Groetsema fatally shot Bigham shortly after midnight on Oct. 6. Deputies responded to the mobile home park after Groetsema and another person called dispatchers to report a domestic disturbance.

Undersheriff Pali Matyas has said previously that Groetsema was awakened that day by a woman's screams. He then grabbed his semiautomatic handgun and ran outside.

Groetsema told deputies he shot Bigham after Bigham charged at him when he went outside to confront him.

Prosecutors temporarily declined to authorize charges in the case on Oct. 6 after sheriff's detectives submitted the case for review. Prosecutors, at that time, sent the case back to detectives with a request for additional investigation.

On Friday, Getting said the additional investigation had been completed "and all evidence has been considered by the OPA."

"The review included not only evidence the OPA may present at trial but also evidence that the defense would have a right to present at trial in the defense of the accused," Getting said.

Rex Hall Jr. is a reporter for the Kalamazoo Gazette. You can reach him at rhall2@mlive.com. Follow him on Twitter.