Traverse City Stabbing Suspect Bradford Gille Was Previously Charged with Mutilation of a Dead Body

Why was he walking the streets?

Note: Article is by Michelle Steffen and doesn’t reflect the views of Bill Steffen

(Pic: Walmart store. Wikimedia public domain, no restrictions. Image does not depict Traverse City Walmart.)

Traverse City law enforcement reported that the suspect in the Traverse City Walmart mass stabbing is Bradford Gille, of Afton, MI. Afton is near Cheboygan. The police also said Gille has a lengthy criminal history.

But a search of the Cheboygan District Court records didn’t show any history.

A quick search brought me to a previous address in Emmett County (Petoskey).

Here are his Emmett County District Court Records. The birth year matches, so these entries are likely him.

NOTE: These are CHARGES that started in District Court. These are not necessarily convictions. I did not look up all of the case dispositions, some of which would be in Circuit Court because that’s where felony charges go. But still. The charges go on for days. Sheesh. Read on.

(Note: Anything ending in “FY” at least started as felony charges. The first four digits, “2016” for example, indicates the year the charges were filed.)

2016-16-0429-FY

DEAD BODIES - DISINTERMENT AND MUTILATION

MALICIOUS DESTRUCTION OF TOMBS/MEMORIALS >$1000 <$20,000

2015-15-0265-OM

DISORDERLY - PUBLIC INTOXICATION

2008-08-147-SM

ASSAULT AND BATTERY

2007-07-1753-FY

ASSAULT AGGRAVATED-DOMESTIC ASSAULT-2ND OFFENSE
ASSAULT AGGRAVATED-DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

2007-07-112-SM

DRIVING FAILURE TO MAINTAIN SECURITY

2006-06-1025-FY

CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE POSSESSION (NON-NARCOTIC)

RETAIL FRAUD - THIRD DEGREE

ASSAULT AND BATTERY

CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE-LABELS/ALTERATION/DEFACEMENT/REMOVAL

2006-06-807-SM

CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE POSSESSION OF MARIHUANA

2005-05-372-SM

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

2003-03-332-OT

DROVE WHILE UNLICENSED OR LICENSE NOT VALID

2002-02-1557-FY

ASSAULT WITH A DANGEROUS WEAPON (FELONIOUS ASSAULT)

2002-02-598-ST

DROVE WHILE LICENSE SUSP/REV/DENIED

2002-02-242-SM

DISTURBANCE OF THE PEACE

I count four rounds of felony charges and 12 rounds of charges in total.

Questions:

1. His criminal history, at least in Emmett County, appears to end in 2016. Where has he been since then? I can’t find any record that he went to a Michigan prison, but I could be wrong.

2. What was he doing in Traverse City?

3. Can we bring back three strikes laws? With a history like this, obviously our justice system failed to protect us here.