Judge: Case against retired MSP sergeant to be moved to federal court

A judge has ruled the case against a retired Michigan State Police (MSP) sergeant should be moved to federal court.

Brian Keely was charged with second-degree murder for the April 17 death of Samuel Sterling.

The Michigan Department of Attorney General says Keely was at the wheel of an unmarked car when he fatally hit Sterling, who was wanted on several warrants, with his cruiser. Keely was part of a U.S. Marshals task force at the time.

Keely’s defense argued district court proceedings should be removed as outlined by the federal officer removal statute.

The judge decided Monday Keely acted within federal capacity during the incident, adding Keely's defense team met the prerequisite conditions to move the case to federal court.

The case was bound over to district court last week. An order filed through U.S. District Court – Western District of Michigan says Keely’s case should no longer proceed through district court, further ordering court officials to terminate that case.

Counsel for all parties involved are required to file appearances in less than a week.

Ven Johnson, the attorney representing Sterling's family, released the following statement:

“Today, U.S. District Court Judge Jarbou ruled that since Brian Keely was on a federal task force, even though he was still employed by Michigan State Police, the removal of the criminal case from Michigan State Court to Federal Court is proper. On behalf of the Sterling family, we, of course, will continue to support the criminal prosecution of Keely for killing an unarmed Samuel Sterling, irrespective of the forum in which it takes place.

“Regarding any procedural issues on how this works, we defer to the criminal law experts at the Michigan Attorney General’s office, who have done an excellent job prosecuting Keely for his wrongdoing."

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