Ionia County prosecutors have decided not to file charges against Clinton County Sheriff Sean Dush under Michigan’s Safe Firearm Storage Law, even after a pistol stolen from his vehicle was later found on a juvenile in Lansing. The call comes after a short investigation that linked the handgun to Dush following the teen’s arrest.
Lansing police arrested the juvenile on May 30 after recovering the pistol, which investigators later traced back to Dush. The teen first told officers that a friend named “Jose” had given him the gun for protection and that he paid $145 for it, a story he later recanted. During a separate warrant search at another home in St. Johns, police photographed a holster in a curbside trash can. Dush acknowledged that the holster was his, according to ClickOnDetroit.
Ionia County Prosecutor Kyle Butler said his office ultimately concluded there was not enough to prove a violation of Michigan’s secure-storage statute. “The date/time of the theft is unknown,” Butler wrote, adding that the law carves out an exception when a minor gets a firearm through unlawful entry into a home or vehicle. Butler also noted his office would take another look if new information surfaces, per ClickOnDetroit.
How Michigan’s Safe Storage Law Works
Michigan’s secure-storage law (MCL 28.429) requires that firearms left unattended where a minor is reasonably likely to be present must be either locked up or otherwise rendered inoperable. The statute, however, lists several explicit exceptions, including situations where a minor obtains a firearm by unlawfully entering a residence or vehicle.
Violations can bring a range of penalties, starting with a misdemeanor carrying up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine. If a minor is injured or killed, the law allows for felony charges with longer prison terms and steeper fines, according to guidance from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).
What Comes Next
For now, the case turns on what investigators cannot say with confidence: when and where the weapon was taken. Butler has said those details remain unclear, which makes it difficult to apply the safe-storage law in a courtroom.
Sheriff Dush has said he kept the pistol in a holster inside the center console of his routinely locked vehicle and did not realize it was missing. Unless new evidence fills in the gaps about the theft itself, the prosecutor’s office has indicated the matter will stay closed for the time being.
