Three new witnesses testified in the trial of the alleged I-96 shooter on Thursday at the Livingston County Circuit Court in Howell, Mich.
MSU alumnus Raulie Casteel, 44, has been accused of the shooting spree that occurred in October of 2012ka on I-96ka.
On Oct. 18, Tony Shepherd said he made the drive from Indiana to buy antiques for his job. He said he was driving on M-52, south of Perry, Mich., when he heard a loud noise and felt his vehicle react. After pulling over, he noticed his car had been shot.
“It was rather unnerving,” Shepherd said. “The bullet was in line with the passenger. It was just unnerving.”
Shepherd said he saw a red car pass beside him and thought it was where the shots were fired from.
James Smiley, who worked for the Special Investigation Force for the Michigan State Police, or MSP, at the time, also was called to the stand.
On Nov. 5, 2012, Smiley went to Casteel’s home in Wixom, Mich., to confiscate his vehicle and weapons.
Casteel was described as acting normal, pleasant, and cooperative with the police when they were at his home. Smiley returned and arrested Casteel later that day.
Wixom police Det. Sgt. Ron Moore, the final witness called to the stand, went through each shooting that occurred during Oct. 16 and 27 in 2012.
By Nov. 5, 2012 there were about 150 people on task force, including MSU police, and roughly 2,960 tips on the case had been reported.
So far there have been 45 witnesses to the incident. The trial will resume on Monday and could come to a close next week.
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