By ELIZABETH FERSZT
Contributing Writer
Michael Mishaw of Jackson is the victim of the second homicide of the year in the City of Jackson. He was found dead in a parking lot on the city’s east side.
According to a press release from JPD Chief Christopher A. Simpson, the body of a 49-year-old, African American male was found shot through the stomach Wednesday, Jan. 28, at approximately 8:45 a.m.
“Jackson police officers arrived in the 1600 block of E. Michigan Avenue to find a 49-year-old Jackson resident deceased from an apparent gunshot to his upper torso. A passerby located the victim near the rear of a parking lot and called 911,” wrote Simpson.
Simpson added, “Earlier in the morning at approximately 2:13 a.m., there was a 911 call for several shots fired in the vicinity of Orange Street. Officers checked the area and did not locate anything at that time.”
Simpson said in a Thursday morning email that they have spoken with three persons of interest, but there have been no arrests yet.
The 1600 block includes the corner of E. Michigan Avenue and Elm Street, with Orange Street being only a block to the east. The parking lot where Mishaw was found is behind several small businesses that face E. Michigan Avenue.
According to representatives at the Seed Cellar, a store that sells heirloom vegetable seeds, cannabis seeds, and mushroom spores, they share the parking lot with other tenants in that block. They also have a 4-screen video surveillance set-up to monitor the lot and property.
Roger Maufort, Seed Cellar owner, stated that he is working with JPD to go through the video. “The police requested the footage” from about 2:20 a.m. through 8:45 a.m., said Maufort. “If they went through the parking lot, it’ll be on there,” he added, referring to any activity involving the shooting.
When asked if the 911 call at 2:30 a.m. is related to the shooting. Simpson responded via email “there is a strong possibility that it is related.”
When asked about how they know it’s a homicide not suicide, Simpson stated, “Evidence supports a homicide.”
If anyone has any information about this homicide, please contact Detective Thomas Tinklepaugh at (517) 768-8637 or Crime Stoppers at (517) 483-7867.
