VAN BUREN COUNTY, MI – Chief Van Buren County Circuit Judge Kathleen Brickley defended her colleague’s decision to try Aidan Ingalls – the South Haven pier shooter - as a juvenile in 2018 for plotting a school shooting.
She said that the county prosecutor at the time agreed with the decision and noted that no appeals were filed.
Ingalls was released from court supervision when he turned 19 this month.
On Friday, Aug. 20, he shot and killed Kalamazoo resident Chuck Skuza, 73, and critically injured his wife, Barb Skuza, 72, in a random attack before he turned the gun on himself, South Haven police said.
Related: Family of couple shot on South Haven pier ‘devastated beyond belief’
On Monday, area law-enforcement – including the Van Buren County prosecutor, sheriff and Paw Paw police chief - criticized Judge Jeffrey Dufon’s earlier decision to try Ingalls as a juvenile.
Chuck and Barb Skuza on 40th wedding anniversary. (Photo provided by Skuza family)
Prosecutor Susan Zuiderveen, who tried the case as an assistant prosecutor, said that “our fears came to fruition” when Ingalls shot the couple. Paw Paw police Chief Eric Marshall said: “Judge Dufon made the wrong decision on this case, there’s no denying that.”
They said Ingalls would likely still be in prison if tried as an adult.
Related: ‘Our fears came to fruition:’ South Haven pier shooter was troubled, obvious threat
After the press conference outside of the county courthouse, Brickley issued a statement.
“Our justice system is a constant balancing act – balancing our rights and liberties as individuals with the safety and security of the public. We have our state and federal constitutions, statutes, court rules, and processes designed to find that balance and to protect both interests,” she wrote.
“Those processes always work better when the different players in the justice system work together. In this case, after much deliberation, there was agreement by the elected prosecutor at the time that the chosen path forward was the right one, and there was no appeal of the court’s decision.
“Today, we all mourn a tragedy, offer our condolences to the affected families, and should come together as a community to make sure that we all support and help those in need.”
About 25 law-enforcement officials, including investigators and command staff, attended the press conference.
Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott said that “it was not a shock” when police learned that Ingalls was the gunman.
Ingalls was 15 when he was arrested in March 2018 after he allegedly plotted an attack at Paw Paw High School. His grandfather called his mother after he found two long guns missing and evidence the barrels had been sawed off. His mother contacted police.
He pleaded guilty to charges of using explosives toward a vulnerable target and possession of a sawed-off shotgun, the prosecutor said.
The victims’ family said in a statement that they are “devastated” but “We will not be defeated by senseless violence.”
Read more:
Family of couple shot on South Haven pier ‘devastated beyond belief’
Gunman in random shooting on South Haven pier once threatened school shooting
Teen had ‘bomb book,’ wrote about plan to shoot up Paw Paw High School
Teen to be charged as juvenile in threat that closed Paw Paw schools
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Judge defends colleague’s decision to try South Haven pier shooter as juvenile for plotting 2018 school shoot - MLive.com
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