STANTON, Mich. — Montcalm County Prosecutor Andrea Krause said Wednesday that the Michigan State Police trooper who shot and killed a Cato Township man in October was justified.
Travis Lee Quay, 40, was killed by Trooper Timothy Moreno the night of Oct. 9 after Quay shot a Montcalm County Sheriff’s Department deputy with a crossbow.
Officials were initially called to the 8000 block of Townline Lake Road in Lakeview for a reported assault involving Quay.
According to a press release from the prosecutor’s office, Quay’s neighbor called police saying he was held at knifepoint after Quay accused of him of stealing marijuana.
The neighbor’s son allegedly told police that Quay also stabbed him in the arm with a pitchfork during the altercation.
Quay was not home when investigators first responded to his residence. Officers received a tip that Quay was back at his home at about 11:15 p.m. Oct. 9.
When officers went back to the residence, officials say Quay shot Deputy Michael Kotenko with the crossbow and was then shot and killed by Trooper Moreno.
According to Prosecutor Krause’s report, Moreno fired three shots at Quay, one of them hitting him in his upper left chest area. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:54 a.m. Oct. 10.
Kotenko is expected to make a full recovery.
