In the winter of 1982, on February 9th, a dedicated Michigan State Trooper named Craig A. Scott, a 28-year-old male, was patrolling US-127 in Ingham County. Around 1 p.m., he observed a red 1974 Camaro speeding and initiated a traffic stop just south of Leslie. This seemingly routine stop would tragically be his last. Trooper Scott approached the vehicle and requested identification and registration from the driver.
The driver provided a Michigan Identification Card but could not produce any paperwork for the car, which had been reported stolen four days prior in Ann Arbor.
Unbeknownst to Trooper Scott, both the driver and the front seat passenger had extensive criminal records and were wanted for auto theft and rape. After an unsuccessful attempt to contact the dispatcher via his radio, Trooper Scott made the decision to arrest the driver. He handcuffed the individual and began to lead him toward the patrol car. In a fateful moment, with his back turned to the Camaro, the passenger exited the stolen vehicle, stealthily approached Trooper Scott, and shot him three times at close range with a. 38 caliber revolver. Despite being mortally wounded, Trooper Scott managed to return fire as the suspects fled the scene.
The two suspects, accompanied by three female passengers, sped away from the scene and drove into the nearby town of Leslie. There, they abandoned the Camaro and committed another brazen crime, stealing a blue 1981 Cutlass at gunpoint. This carjacking was quickly reported to the authorities, providing law enforcement with a description of the new getaway vehicle. The suspects then headed towards Jackson, but their flight from justice was short-lived.
Officers from the Ingham County Sheriff's Department, alerted to the stolen Cutlass, spotted the vehicle and conducted a felony stop. The suspects were arrested without further incident. A thorough investigation, which included taped statements from eyewitnesses, solidified the case against the two men directly involved in Trooper Scott's murder. On August 18, 1982, both were convicted for their heinous crime and sentenced by the Ingham County Circuit Court to life imprisonment.
