VBT police arrest man with shotgun, drugs

Joshua Michael Emery, a 44-year-old male from Battle Creek, was video-arraigned on five charges while in custody in a hospital bed on Sept. 8 by 34th District Court Judge Lisa Martin.
Emery, a convicted felon with a warrant for his arrest, was arrested by Van Buren Township police after he waved a loaded shotgun around and racked it during a traffic stop at McDonald’s parking lot on Rawsonville Road.
Deputy Police Chief Joshua Monte said on Sept. 5 at about 1:15 p.m., a Van Buren officer pulled over a vehicle for having an improper plate on Rawsonville Road near Grove Road. The vehicle pulled into the McDonald’s parking lot and parked.
The female front-seat passenger was taken into custody without incident after she was found to be wanted on a felony warrant.
Emery could not produce a driver’s license, became increasingly agitated and non-compliant, giving the officer several false names while refusing to exit the vehicle. Emery rolled the driver’s side window up while retrieving a shotgun from the backseat of the vehicle.
The officer broke out the driver’s side window in an attempt to grab the shotgun from the driver. Failing to disarm the driver, the officer retreated to a position of cover, Deputy Chief Monte said.
Van Buren police with the assistance of the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s deputies, established a perimeter in the area and attempted to negotiate the surrender of Emery, who continuously indicated that he did not want to go back to jail.
When attempts at negotiating failed, the Van Buren police deployed pepper spray (oleoresin capsicum) into the open window of the vehicle. While inside the vehicle, Emery stood up through the sunroof of the vehicle holding the shotgun. While racking a round into the chamber of the shotgun, he was struck with a kinetic impact projectile, which is like a “rubber bullet” deployed by the police. Shortly thereafter, Emery exited the vehicle and was taken into custody without further incident.
Emery was found to be a convicted felon, in possession of a loaded shotgun, wanted on a felony warrant out of Battle Creek, and found to be in possession of a large amount of methamphetamine.
At no time during this incident were shots fired by the police or the subject, Deputy Chief Monte said.
Emery was transported to a local hospital for medical evaluation, as per department policy, following the deployment of the less-than-lethal devices.
Deputy Chief Monte said the Van Buren Police Department would like to thank the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office for its assistance with this incident and express gratitutde to the community for its patience for all the local road closures during this incident.
The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office charged Emery with one count of possession of firearms by a felon, assault with a dangerous weapon (felonious assault), assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer, and two counts of felony firearm.
At the arraignment, his temporary defense attorney said according to her information, her client had worked for four years in construction and lived in one of the units they are working on in Battle Creek. She said the only charges she knew of were in 2005 or 2002 and they were driving while intoxicated charges and he was not on probation or parole. She said he has no money for bond and she asked for personal bond and GPS tether.
Judge Martin said Van Buren police had asked for $500,000 bond with a GPS tether if bond was posted. She said Emery had a charge for an assaultive crime in 2017 and felony home invasion in 2021 and was a threat to public safety. He is labeled as a habitual offender, fourth offence. She said his current charges are voluminous.
Judge Martin set bond at $200,000/10% and the probable cause conference for Sept. 20.