The man who killed a Nappanee police officer in 1988 is again seeking clemency.
Butch” Nine and 50 years for the attempted murder of officer Phil Hochstetler.Michael R. Steele, formerly of Elkhart, is serving a 110-year prison sentence — 60 years for the shooting death of officer Brant “
Steele, incarcerated in the Miami Correctional Facility in Bunker Hill, Ind., mailed a copy of his petition for clemency to The Goshen News.
“I was charged with two crimes both were trumpt (sic) up and if I would of had a jury trial I may have been found not guilty or if convicted of any crime it would have been involuntary manslaughter,” Steele wrote in a handwritten statement dated Jan. 10 and addressed to Gov. Mitch Daniels.
Officer Nine was killed Nov. 3, 1988, after he responded to a call at Newcomer Jewelry Store. Steele was reportedly trying to pass a bad check.
Nine confronted the then-24-year-old Steele. A struggle ensued and Steele ended up shooting Nine with the officer’s own gun.
Nappanee police officer Phil Hochstetler was the second officer at the scene. He was also shot at by Steele, witnesses and Hochstetler testified later. Hochstetler, who wasn’t injured, shot Steele and apprehended him.
Nearly six years later, Hochstetler was shot and killed in the line of duty in Warsaw as a member of the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department.
In his written statement, Steele said Nine grabbed his shoulder rudely and pulled a gun on him during the encounter in the jewelry store.
“I felt that I was in unavoidable danger of being killed,” he wrote.
Steele acknowledged seizing Nine’s firearm in the struggle. However, he claimed Nine was shot when the gun “accidentally” discharged.
“I exited the store and fired a shot up in the air to provoke officer Hochstetler to shoot me and he did,” Steele later wrote. “I was shot in my face the bullet passed through my neck and was removed from my back one year after I was shot.”
In seeking clemency, Steele argues in part that he acted in self-defense and that he was “wrongfully convicted in a guilty plea hearing.”
The Indiana Parole Board meets monthly to examine the merits of petitions for clemency. The board reports to the governor its conclusions and recommendations. Under the state constitution, only the governor can grant clemency. The exceptions are cases of treason or impeachment; the power lies with the General Assembly in those instances.
The Elkhart County prosecutor has not learned about Steele’s latest request, said Ed Windbigler, investigator and spokesman for Prosecutor Curtis Hill. He explained the request is usually handled at the state level, but the local prosecutor may have the opportunity to comment on the request before the parole board considers it.
Goshen News staffer Rod Rowe contributed to this report.
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A portrait of Nappanee Police Officer Brant "Butch" Nine, center, is pictured here at the Nappanee police station. Nine was killed in the line of duty in 1988. His killer, Michael R. Steele is seeking clemency.
‘Butch’ Nine killer seeks clemency
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