Police capture suspect involved in Rawsonville Woods incident

On Friday, May 20, at approximately 8:55 a.m., Sumpter Township Police were called to a residence on Greenmeadow Drive, inside the Rawsonville Woods Mobile Home Community, 10825 Rawsonville Road, on the report of a domestic assault.
Upon arrival, officers were met at the clubhouse by the victim, a 23-year-old female who told officers her 26-year-old live-in boyfriend, Brad Edward Fields, had assaulted her several times throughout the night and had possibly shot her dog while she was outside of the residence.
She also reported that he told her he had, for unknown reasons, intentionally shot himself in the leg earlier in the night while away. She observed blood soaking his pants near his left inner thigh and he showed her a hole in the pants that he described as being caused by the bullet traveling through. When she attempted to call 911, Fields allegedly took her phone and broke it to keep her from calling for help.
The victim found an opportunity and was eventually able to flee the residence. While running away she reportedly overheard Fields yell, threatening to shoot her if she didn’t run fast enough. She was able to run to the clubhouse where she contacted police.
Upon officer’s arrival, an ambulance was requested for the victim and she was eventually transported to a nearby hospital with injuries sustained from reportedly being punched numerous times in the head and upper torso.
Her dog was also found running loose nearby bleeding from an injury to its hind-quarter and was transported by a family member to a nearby veterinarian for treatment. Reports were that the exact cause of the injury could not be determined.
Sumpter Township Police, with assistance by officers from the Huron Township Police Department, cordoned off the area and evacuated nearby neighbors while attempting to make contact with Fields by phone and loudspeaker. When no contact was made assistance was requested from the Emergency Response Unit of the Michigan State Police as it was believed he was still armed and now barricaded inside the residence.
Just prior to the issuance of a search warrant for the Greenmeadow location and an arrest warrant for Fields, telephone contact was made with him after he called a family member using a third party telephone. Information gathered through several conversations with him by a negotiator with the Michigan State Police, and by other means, showed that he had fled the location just prior to officers’ initial arrival and was now at a location on Robson Road in Van Buren Township.
Several members of the Emergency Response Unit were sent to that location to provide surveillance on the residence, looking for signs of Fields and with the full ability to take action if he was found and appeared to pose an immediate threat to anyone in the area.
Once entry was made into the Greenmeadow location and it was indeed found unoccupied, Sumpter Township and Michigan State Police personnel made the Robson Road location and he was eventually taken into custody without incident after exiting the residence and surrendering to members of the Emergency Response Unit in the front yard.
Once in custody in was found that Fields had actually staged the self-inflicted gunshot wound by using an alternative substance to mimic the appearance of blood and cutting a hole in his pants to make it appear to the victim that he had actually shot himself. When questioned as to why he did this, he would not answer.
Fields was arraigned Saturday morning on the following charges: One count of aggravated domestic violence, one count of weapons-firearms possed by felon, one count weapons – felony firearm, and also habitual offender second offense notice.
News release by
Sumpter Township Police Chief
Eric Luke