Peck man arrested after road-rage incident on I-69 ends in gunfire

By Charla Arnold and Dave Fredrick
The Tri-City Times

IMLAY CITY — The Imlay City Police Department and several other neighboring departments, conducted an investigation into a road-rage confrontation that began on I-69 Wednesday evening, Sept. 17, and ended with a handgun being fired into another moving vehicle. 

The investigation led to the arrest of a Peck man while he was working in Battle Creek.

According to Imlay City Police Sgt. Sean Leathers, the incident began on eastbound I-69 near Wilder Road when the two drivers were jockeying for position on the two-lane freeway. 

Both vehicles eventually exited at M-53 and continued northbound into Imlay City. At the traffic light at the intersection of Newark Road and South Cedar Street, police say words were exchanged between the two drivers.

As a 2015 Jeep driven by a 27-year-old Brown City man began traveling north, police say a single shot from a hand gun was fired from the pickup truck, striking the back window of the Jeep. The bullet passed through the Jeep, but no injuries were reported. Police say the incident took place around 10 p.m. Wednesday night but was not reported to ICPD until early Thursday morning.

The suspect, 35-year old Shaun Michael Wagner, a resident of the Village of Peck in Sanilac County, was taken into custody by the Battle Creek Police Department after Imlay City police shared information detailing the incident. Wagner was taken into custody without incident. Two Imlay City officers drove to Battle Creek to pick up Wagner and brought him back to the Lapeer County Jail where he was lodged and then arraigned later last Friday afternoon.

Wagner faces charges of assault with intent to murder, discharging a firearm from a moving vehicle, two counts of felony firearm and reckless driving. His bail was set at $500,000.

Imlay City Chief Charles Rushton said the incident could easily have ended with a fatality. Had a passenger been seated in the Jeep where the bullet struck, the consequences could have been deadly, according to the chief.

“One of our officers called me late Wednesday and told me about the incident. The driver of the Jeep did not report it to police until Thursday morning and we began our investigation immediately,” Sgt. Leathers said. “We had to call in some officers who had just gone off shift, or were scheduled off for the day. We had great response from our guys along with Almont, Metamora and the sheriff department.”

The investigation required officers to close portions of the roadway while evidence was located and collected. M-53 was closed from the intersection of Newark and South Cedar south to the top of the I-69 overpass for several hours.

“While we were working the scene, (Rushton) and an Almont detective went to the suspect’s home in Peck,” Leathers explained. 

“It was a polite knock and talk with a family member who was at home. We had a search warrant and were allowed to enter the home. We seized several (10) long guns, five handguns and ammunition,” Rushton added. He said there is nothing preventing the suspect from having weapons in his home.

Rushton thanked residents for their patience and understanding during the investigation.

He said his department was assisted by the Lapeer County Sheriff’s Department, Almont Police Department, Metamora Police Department and Battle Creek Police Department. 

Metamora police brought in a drone for aerial photo evidence while the sheriff department responded with deputies and two dogs specifically trained to work with firearm cases. 

Rushton specifically thanked the agencies for their assistance, including Battle Creek officers who located and took the suspect into custody.

Both Rushton and Leathers said they were proud of the effort by all law enforcement agencies.

Chief urges drivers to avoid confrontation

Rushton urged motorists who encounter aggressive or angry drivers to call 911 or drive directly to the nearest police or fire station rather than confronting the other driver. 

The chief said many road-rage incidents begin unintentionally and can escalate when drivers respond to one another’s anger.

Rushton encouraged motorists to offer other drivers grace and the benefit of the doubt.

“You never know what the other driver is going through,” Rushton said, noting that another motorist could potentially be experiencing a medical emergency, emotional crisis or mental-health emergency. 

Drivers cannot control how another person behaves, he said, but they can control their own response.