Steven Goble

IONIA COUNTY, MI – Steven Goble decided he wasn't going to prison after allegedly assaulting his wife.

As the 31-year-old Lake Odessa man led police on a high-speed chase through Ionia County on Sunday, May 4, he said the only way out of the situation was to provoke officers to shoot him, according to people who contacted 911 dispatchers after receiving calls from him during the pursuit.

Emergency dispatch audio obtained by The Grand Rapids Press/MLive under the Freedom of Information Act sheds light on the alleged domestic violence incident and Goble's intentions during the 45-minute chase that ended in a field, where he was eventually shot and killed after firing at officers.

"He has a gun and he's gonna either shoot himself or shoot at the cops," an ex-girlfriend, also the mother of Goble's children, told an Ionia County dispatcher. "He said he wanted me to do his last wishes ... and tell his kids that he loves them."

Goble told her he had a shotgun in the seat beside him. The ex-girlfriend tried to convince him to stop but "he said he's not going to prison and that's that."

Goble also called his employer and said cops were following him, and he had a loaded gun. He expressed plans "to get out in an open area and fire at them so that they will shoot him," the employer said, later adding that the threats sounded genuine.

Dispatchers that day were also contacted by an emergency room nurse who said Goble's wife showed up at the hospital after he allegedly assaulted her. She'd been treated the previous day for assault wounds, but she wouldn't say much then.

Goble allegedly forced his wife to take sleeping pills and she begged him for hours to bring her to the hospital. He has "anger issues," and the victim suffered apparent injuries, the nurse said.

"He wanted her to write a suicide note yesterday and then hang herself today," the nurse told the dispatcher.

Goble's wife, Shree, told MLive.com they had been having marital problems. He struggled with a recent probation for a misdemeanor conviction and was in counseling. Goble had recently stopped taking his medication and "wasn't himself."

He in the past expressed wanting to provoke police to shoot him at their house, she said.

"I just know the whole reason why Sunday went down the way it did is because flat out, he wasn’t going to prison," Shree Goble said. "That wasn't an option for him."

RELATED: Listen to police describe what led to fatal shooting of Ionia chase suspect

Angie Jackson covers public safety and breaking news for MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Email her at ajackso3@mlive.com, and follow her on Twitter.