Prosecutor Announces Charging Decision on ICE Agent Who Shot Fugitive

» Get Patch’s daily newsletter and real-time news alerts.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced Wednesday morning that U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement Officer Mitchell Quinn was justified last spring when he shot and killed a fugitive while serving a warrant.

Worthy said the investigation, led by the Michigan State Police-Detroit Police Homicide Task Force, confirmed Quinn’s version of what happened on April 27 when a fugitive task force was attempting to apprehend Terrance Kellom, 20, for questioning in the armed robbery of a pizza delivery driver.

Quinn fired multiple shots at Terrance Kellom, 20, after Kellom allegedly lunged at him with a claw hammer. He ignored warnings to stop, Worthy said at a news conference, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The autopsy showed Kellom was shot four times – in the neck, shoulder, thigh on the posterior flank of his abdomen – but none were at close range and none of the shots were in the back, as Kellom’s family had claimed,Worthy said. Bullet trajectories supported Quinn’s story, she added.

Related:

• ICE Agent’s Attorney Defends Shooting; County Withholds Autopsy Report
• ICE Officer Who Shot Suspect in Raid Criminally Charged in 2008
• Police: ICE Agent Fired Multiple Shots in Killing of Man Armed with Hammer
• ICE Agent Who Shot Suspect Goes Into Hiding

Kevin Kellom, the victim’s father, told the media his son was shot 10 times, including eight times after he dropped to his knees, and that he wasn’t armed with a hammer. Kevin Kellom claimed surveillance video would confirm, but no video was produced, Worthy said.

Investigators interviewed 17 people, and all confirmed Quinn’s account, the prosecutor said.

The shooting occurred as the nation was still on edge after the Baltimore riots and questionable police shootings, Worthy noted.

“Yes, black lives matter,” she said. “Of course they matter. But you know what else matters? Credible facts matter.”

Both Quinn and Kellom are black.

______

Photo of Terrance Kellom via Michigan Department of Corrections