Benton Harbor, Michigan State Police Dragnet Nets Nine Weapons

That's nine more guns off the streets.

The program is called the Secure Cities Partnership. It's an effort between the Michigan State Police and cities like Benton Harbor to help reduce violent crime and, in conjunction with that, establish and build a positive police and community relationship, in this case, within the city of Benton Harbor.

The unit is named the MSP Fifth District Crime Prevention Squad (DCPS). The DCPS is staffed by troopers from each of the district’s four posts. During a four week period from early June into early July, those DCPS troopers confiscated nine firearms resulting in the arrest of six suspects. "Three of the firearms were confiscated during a single traffic stop on June 26 where one suspect was arrested for CCW and charges sought for two additional occupants who fled on foot," according to the Michigan State Police.

The biggest bust in the current effort came on June 17th, when DCPS officers assisted Benton Township Police with an armed robbery investigation at the AT&T and T-Mobile cell phone stores, and then, on June 24, the unit assisted Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety with a shooting investigation. MSP says "over the past four weeks, multiple suspects were taken into custody for several original felony charges, multiple felony warrants, and possession of cocaine."

Here's what arrests were made:

• Six – carrying concealed weapon, which is a felony.
• Four – "felony warrants satisfied, including one each for assault w/intent to commit bodily harm, resisting & obstructing police causing injury, conditional bond release, and unknown felony warrant generated from the Lansing area".
• One – possession of cocaine, which is a felony.
• One – misdemeanor warrant.

What is scary is these are just the firearms confiscated in a four week period, and it's a fairly small sample of the activity going on, both in this area and across the state.

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