Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
SPARTA, MI - A man who shot and killed another during a road-rage dispute will not face criminal charges, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said Friday, June 30.
Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker determined that Robert Chipman Jr., 43, would not be charged in the shooting death of Donald Dudley, 20, on M-37 in Sparta.
'Neither side without fault' in deadly road-rage shooting
He said prosecutors could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the shooter did not act in self-defense.
The incident happened around 3:20 a.m. May 22 on M-37, near Sparta Avenue NW.
Donald Dudley, 20, of Bailey, was killed. His brother, Benjamin Dudley, 18, was seriously injured by gunfire.
Robert Chipman Jr., 43, who held a valid concealed-pistol license shot the two after the road-rage incident. He told police he fired his gun during a physical altercation, Kent County sheriff's deputies said.
The Dudleys were in a Chevrolet Cavalier driven by a 22-year-old Wyoming woman. She initially fled after shots were fired but stopped and called 911.
Chipman and one of the Dudleys were going to their jobs when the trouble started on M-37. Eventually, both drivers pulled over.
"The facts clearly show Robert was not the aggressor, the two brothers were," Becker wrote in a report.
"In this case, the altercation was at least two-on-one, with the possibility of it being three-on-one," Becker wrote.