BRONSON, MI (WTVB) – Possible charges are pending in the case of 4 men who were taken into custody over the weekend in southwest Branch County following a manhunt that lasted nearly 18 hours. Michigan State Police are continuing the investigation which started with authorities believing the subjects might have included a suspect wanted for a stabbing incident last Wednesday in Sturgis. However, Vladmir S. Cofield, Sr. wasn’t arrested in the manhunt and remains at large and State Police say the 4 men were not connected to the crime in Sturgis.
The manhunt was sparked by a report of gunshots around 1 p.m. Saturday in the area of Round Lake and Hedgecock Roads in Branch County’s Noble Township. However, when troopers arrived, the four men fled and a K-9 unit and an MSP helicopter were called in to assist in the search. Two of the subjects, from Sturgis and Tekonsha, were located Saturday and taken in for questioning. The other two, from Kalamazoo and Sturgis, were found Sunday morning in the same general area along Fawn River Road and apprehended around 7:30 a.m.
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 operation. Sturgis Police have released few details concerning the incident last week which resulted in their listing of Cofield as a subject wanted for attempted murder.
