Milford, Hobbs Named In Suit
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
The town of Milford and town marshal David Hobbs have until Feb. 20 to respond to a lawsuit accusing them of false imprisonment.
The suit was filed by Ralph "Fred" Fisher as the result of his imprisonment on murder charges.
In March 2002, a jury found Fisher not guilty of the Jan. 15, 2001, murder of Kathy Vroman.
Vroman's frozen body was found Jan. 26, 2001, in a wooded area near Three Rivers, Mich. An autopsy showed she died of two gunshot wounds to the head.
She allegedly was shot at Country Car Co., a Milford business owned by Jason Fisher, Ralph Fisher's son. At the time of the trial, police believed she was killed to hide a car-theft chain in which the younger Fisher and three others were allegedly involved. It also was reported that Vroman owed money to the elder Fisher.
Police originally arrested Jason Fisher for the murder, but after nearly a year in jail, he testified that his father was the shooter, securing immunity for himself on the murder charge.
Ralph Fisher categorically denied participation in the actual murder and admitted only to instructing his son how to dispose of the body and hide evidence.
He could not be prosecuted for those crimes because of a loophole in state law, allowing family members to assist each other in certain situations without threat of prosecution.
In the lawsuit, the elder Fisher and his wife, Ramona Fisher, demand a jury trial and seek an unspecified amount of damages. The suit alleges that Fisher was "assaulted" by accusations of murder, unlawful movement of a body and obstruction of justice.
Also alleged is that he was falsely imprisoned, falsely arrested, maliciously prosecuted and emotionally distressed, and that his wife lost the consortium and companionship of her husband.
The entire suit rests mainly on an allegation that Milford town marshal David Hobbs used incorrect or false information in a probable cause affidavit that was later used to charge Fisher.
Following the January 2001 murder, Jason Fisher, 25, was sentenced to four years in prison for burglary and 1-1/2 years for theft, with the terms ordered served concurrently. A charge of murder in Vroman's death against Fisher was dismissed by a prosecutorial agreement April 9, 2002, about two weeks after his father's acquittal. Fisher is serving the remainder of his sentence in Elkhart County work release. [[In-content Ad]]
The town of Milford and town marshal David Hobbs have until Feb. 20 to respond to a lawsuit accusing them of false imprisonment.
The suit was filed by Ralph "Fred" Fisher as the result of his imprisonment on murder charges.
In March 2002, a jury found Fisher not guilty of the Jan. 15, 2001, murder of Kathy Vroman.
Vroman's frozen body was found Jan. 26, 2001, in a wooded area near Three Rivers, Mich. An autopsy showed she died of two gunshot wounds to the head.
She allegedly was shot at Country Car Co., a Milford business owned by Jason Fisher, Ralph Fisher's son. At the time of the trial, police believed she was killed to hide a car-theft chain in which the younger Fisher and three others were allegedly involved. It also was reported that Vroman owed money to the elder Fisher.
Police originally arrested Jason Fisher for the murder, but after nearly a year in jail, he testified that his father was the shooter, securing immunity for himself on the murder charge.
Ralph Fisher categorically denied participation in the actual murder and admitted only to instructing his son how to dispose of the body and hide evidence.
He could not be prosecuted for those crimes because of a loophole in state law, allowing family members to assist each other in certain situations without threat of prosecution.
In the lawsuit, the elder Fisher and his wife, Ramona Fisher, demand a jury trial and seek an unspecified amount of damages. The suit alleges that Fisher was "assaulted" by accusations of murder, unlawful movement of a body and obstruction of justice.
Also alleged is that he was falsely imprisoned, falsely arrested, maliciously prosecuted and emotionally distressed, and that his wife lost the consortium and companionship of her husband.
The entire suit rests mainly on an allegation that Milford town marshal David Hobbs used incorrect or false information in a probable cause affidavit that was later used to charge Fisher.
Following the January 2001 murder, Jason Fisher, 25, was sentenced to four years in prison for burglary and 1-1/2 years for theft, with the terms ordered served concurrently. A charge of murder in Vroman's death against Fisher was dismissed by a prosecutorial agreement April 9, 2002, about two weeks after his father's acquittal. Fisher is serving the remainder of his sentence in Elkhart County work release. [[In-content Ad]]