The brother of a man who was fatally shot by police in southwestern Michigan faces prison time for his role in fleeing officers before the shooting.
The Kalamazoo Gazette reports a Kalamazoo County jury Thursday convicted Aaron Pelletier of third-degree fleeing and eluding and felony firearm possession. He was acquitted of carrying a concealed weapon.
Sentencing is May 16.
Pelletier testified he didn't know that there was a handgun and assault rifle in his car before he and 37-year-old Sean Pelletier led police on a roughly 20-mile chase from Galesburg to Portage in May 2005.
Aaron Pelletier was the driver and eventually crashed.
Defense lawyer Victor Bland told the court that his client wanted to protect his brother and police from an encounter he feared could turn violent.
