HEARING HELD FOR BROTHERS ACCUSED OF ATTACKING MICHIGAN STATE TROOPER

NILES – A hearing was held last week in Berrien County Trial Court in Niles for the second of two brothers accused in the Feb. 20 attack on a Michigan State Police trooper on the U.S. 31 freeway.
The preliminary hearing for Travis Tyler Wise, 19, of Middlebury, was held last week in Berrien County Trial Court a week after Wise’s brother, Michael Scott Barber, 21, of Mishawaka, was bound over for trial on seven charges from the same incident.
The next court dates for both Wise and Barber are April 19 for a case conference, May 10 for a status conference and May 17 for the start of a weeklong trial. Both Wise and Barber have pleaded not guilty to the charges they face.
Wise faces six counts: assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, assault by strangulation, resisting and obstructing police causing injury, attempting to disarm an offiver by taking a taser and obstruction of justice. His bond is $150,000 cash or surety.
The assault with intent to murder charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, while the two other assault charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Obstruction of justice is a five year felony, resisting and obstructing police causing injury is a four year felony and attempting to disarm an officer is a two year felony.
The incident occurred Feb. 20 on the U.S. 31 freeway when Trooper Garry Guild attempted to stop Barber who was speeding southbound on a stolen motorcycle. Wise attacked Guild from behind while Guild was trying to handcuff Barber. Guild was rescued by two citizens who stopped to help.
Berrien County Trial Judge Angela Pasula ruled at the end of the hearing that she found probable cause that Wise either committed or aided and abetted Barber to commit the six charges. While testimony indicated that the trooper’s gun had fallen out on the ground, she said it was irrelevant to the fact that Barber tried to get the weapon.
As was the case the week before, Guild was the only person to testify. Guild said he observed Barber traveling southbound on the freeway on what turned out to be a stolen motorcycle. He activated his lights and then his siren in an attempt to pull him over.
Guild said his pursuit began around Matthew Road in Berrien Township and ended up near the Niles-Buchanan Road exit where Barber crashed the motorcycle. Guild then attempted to handcuff Barber when he was attacked from behind by an unknown person who turned out to be Wise.
“While I was on the ground trying to handcuff Barber, an unknown subject came up and grabbed me around the neck in a chokehold,” Guild said. “He had both arms around my neck in a carotid chokehold which was very tight. I was not able to maintain control of Barber when he grabbed me and jerked me back five to ten feet.”
Guild described himself as 6 foot 1 inches tall and 195 pounds in weight. “I was gasping and fighting for air and I felt like I was going to pass out,” he said. “If I passed out they would have access to my weapons. He had a chokehold on me for over 11 seconds and never let up.”
He went on to testify that although Wise was yelling at Barber to run, Barber came back, punched him in the face twice with his fist and started groping around for Guild’s weapon. Guild was only able to get control of the situation after two citizens stopped and pulled Wise off him.
Guild said he went to Lakeland Hospital in Niles later that day where doctors told him he had an acute injury to the neck and told him to monitor his injuries.