Dead of Winter

It is believed the teens were using the cabin as a hideout. According to Chief Brian Gibralter, officers ordered the teens to surrender and after firing tear gas into the cabin, the teens opened fire on the five officers outside. Chief Gibralter said that John Lacey ran from the cabin and was killed during a scuffle with Officer Jesse Harrison, when Harrison’s gun accidentally discharged. Lacey’s sister, Angela, was shot and killed when she fired on the officers.

Cole Lacey, 12, was found hiding in a closet and was taken into custody. John Lacey, according to Chief Gibralter, was the suspected leader of a teenage gang centered in Oscoda County that has been responsible for a series of burglaries of tourist cabins in the area. Police are investigating whether the gang was also involved in the robbery of a convenience store July 24. During the robbery, the store clerk, Denise Lawicki, 22,was beaten.

The outcome of this episode is very distressing for all involved,”said Chief Gibralter.“The deaths of the two young people were tragic and unfortunate. There will be an review of the incident to assess that the officers involved acted within normal procedure. However, all evidence points to the fact that these men had reason to fear for their lives and acted out of self-defense.”

Helen Lacey, the mother of the three teenagers, refused to speak with this reporter.

Louis set the article down. No mention of dear old Dad. He went through the remaining three articles. One was a follow-up that offered no new information. The second was a short story saying the “internal investigation” revealed no wrong doing on the part of the Loon Lake officers. The fourth article was an overwrought feature on teenage gangs, pegged to the Lacey kids. The headline was WHEN GOOD KIDS GO BAD. It was filled with stock quotes from psychologists and juvenile authorities speculating on the sources of teen violence. But the reporter had taken the trouble to track down Duane Lacey and ended her story with the neat coda: “For the Lacey children, the seeds of violence were sown in the home. Their father, Duane Lacey, is currently incarcerated in Marquette State Prison, serving the seventh year of his fifteen-year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon.”

Louis felt a tightening in his chest. Christ, why had no one told him about this? Gibralter had directed him to go through the case files but why in the hell hadn’t he thought of Duane Lacey as a potential suspect? And Jesse… he had been at the raid. Why didn’t he say anything?

Louis read again the last paragraph of the feature story. All right, it said Lacey was in prison. So had the fax from the department of corrections. But the fax could have been wrong. He knew prison records were routinely screwed up, especially computer records, which were often inputted by clerk convicts.

He had not double-checked it. Shit, what if the record was wrong?

He felt a trickle of sweat make its way down his back under his shirt. He glanced up at the clock. It was still too early. The DOC wouldn’t open until eight.

“Morning, Louis.”

Louis turned to see Dale coming in from the locker room, heading straight for the coffee machine. Dale started to the coffeepot. “Hey, how come you didn’t make the coffee yet?” he said. “But then again you don’t do such a great job anyway, no offense.”

Louis was silent. Finally, Dale looked up and saw Louis’s stony expression. “Something wrong?” he asked.

Looking into Dale’s pink face, Louis realized suddenly he was angry. He was angry at Dale. He was angry at Jesse and Gibralter. He was angry at all of them for not telling him about the raid on the cabin. And he was angry at himself for not double-checking.

“Louis? What is it?” Dale asked.

“Nothing,” he said, turning back to his desk. “I need a file,” he said.

“Sure, no problem,” Dale said cautiously, “Just let me get the coffee — ”

Louis spun around. “Just give me the keys. I’ll get it.”

Dale stared at him for a moment then reached in his pocket for the keys. Louis came forward to get them, almost grabbing them from Dale’s hand. He unlocked the cabinet and started sifting through the files. He couldn’t find the one for the raid.

“Where the hell is it?” he muttered.

Dale came up behind him. “Let me find it. What do you need?”

Louis turned to face him. “November, 1979. John and Angela Lacey. Those names ring a bell?”

Dale looked confused. “I’ll find it.” He held out a mug of coffee. “Three sugars. Hey, what happened to your hand?”

Louis ignored him, took the coffee and went back to his desk. He felt a small wave of guilt as he watched Dale hunt through the file drawer. He probably had nothing to do with the raid. But right now, Dale was lumped in with the rest of the department. What the hell was going on here? Was it just the ineptitude of a small-town department? He couldn’t believe that; Lacey was too logical a suspect, in prison or not.

Dale came over and handed him a thick file. It was labeled LACEY, JOHN. A. #79-11-543.

“I brought your mail, too,” Dale said, dropping some envelopes on the desk and backing away.

Louis put on his glasses and opened the file. On top was the three-page crime report that listed suspects and victims along with their personal information. The reporting officer was listed as Chief Brian Gibralter, #1. Louis began to read.

On November 23, 1979, at 16:05 hours Officer Thomas Pryce (see supplemental report #2) observed suspect #1, a twelve-year-old white male juvenile, identified as Cole Lacey, walking along the 1400 block of Lakeside drive. When Officer Pryce attempted to stop Lacey, the suspect ran south approximately one hundred yards to an unoccupied cabin located at 1387 Lakeside Drive. Suspect entered the cabin.

Officer Pryce approached the cabin and at that time heard activity, leading Officer Pryce to believe the cabin was occupied by more than the suspect. Officer Pryce verbally advised the suspect Lacey to vacate the premises. At this time, unknown suspect inside the premises yelled, “Fuck you, come and get me.”

At this time Officer Pryce called for backup, advising Central he was involved in a foot pursuit that had concluded with a challenge to enter. Chief Gibralter, #1, and Officers Harrison, #13, Wickshaw, #8, and Lovejoy, #10 (supplemental reports #3, #4, #5) responded to the scene. Upon arriving at the scene, I observed Officer Pryce positioned by his patrol car.

Officer Pryce advised that he had made numerous attempts to persuade the suspects to vacate the premises and that an unknown number of suspects had responded with verbal threats. I assumed command of the situation and directed Officers Wickshaw, Lovejoy and Harrison to secure the cabin by taking positions at the cabin’s corners. Positioned in front of the cabin, I attempted again to persuade suspects to surrender. They responded with numerous verbal obscenities. At approximately 16:20 hours I ordered tear gas activated. Tear gas was launched through both front windows. Unknown suspects began to shout from inside the premises.

At approximately 16:28 hours, suspect #2, John A. Lacey, white male juvenile, exited the premises through the rear door. Suspect attempted to elude Officer Harrison, who radioed for assistance. Suspect Lacey ran north toward the property’s rear perimeter approximately twenty-five yards. Officer Harrison tackled suspect and attempted to subdue him.

Officer Harrison’s shotgun discharged, hitting suspect Lacey on the left front facial area. Suspect died at the scene. Officers Wickshaw, Lovejoy and myself abandoned our positions to assist officer Harrison. At this time, suspect #3, Angela L. Lacey, white female juvenile, exited the premises through the rear door, armed with a