BRONSON, MI (WTVB) – Michigan State Police say four people were arrested Saturday and early Sunday in Branch County as part of a manhunt for an attempted murder suspect wanted by Sturgis City Police since Wednesday. However, none of those taken into custody was Vladmir S. Cofield, Sr., who allegedly tried to kill someone in the 400 block of Center Street in Sturgis. Police have not released any details of that incident, other than providing a mugshot of Cofield to the media.
Early Saturday afternoon, authorities were called to an area in Branch County’s Noble Township after 4 men described as two white males and two black males, were spotted with weapons along a rural road. When police arrived, the 4 fled on foot. The two white males were apprehended several hours later. The search for the other subjects continued last night and Sunday morning. Around 7:30 a.m. Sunday, they were arrested outside a residence on Fawn River Road, not far from the St. Joseph County line. One of the suspects is from Sturgis, the other from Kalamazoo. The two taken into custody yesterday are from Tekonsha and Sturgis.
A number of residents in the area where the manhunt was centered were advised not to leave their homes last night while police remained on the lookout for the suspects. Ten officers from the Branch County Sheriff’s Department, as well as Bronson City Police and the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department worked with the State Police in the search and apprehension of the subjects.
Charges are pending while the investigation continues.
