IRON MOUNTAIN — An Iron Mountain police officer was justified in fatally shooting a 20-year-old Norway man Aug. 27 in Breitung Township and will not face criminal charges, Dickinson County Prosecutor Lisa Richards has ruled.

Evidence showed Riley Joseph Starnes fired six shots at Iron Mountain Police Officer Cory Johnson as he attempted to get out of his squad car, so Johnson was defending himself when he returned fire and killed Starnes, according to a statement Richards released Friday.

“Although he ultimately received backup from other law enforcement officers/agencies, Officer Johnson was the only officer at the scene at the time of the shooting,” Richards said. “He had an honest and reasonable belief that he was in imminent danger and acted immediately to defend himself.”

Johnson is the newest member of the Iron Mountain Police Department, hired in late July, but he has worked at other police agencies, Iron Mountain Director of Police and Fire Services Ed Mattson said.

“It’s typical in these situations to have an officer on paid administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing,” Mattson said. “He (Johnson) will be back to work shortly.”

Johnson was treated immediately after the shooting for multiple puncture wounds on his left temple and cheek, as well as glass fragments embedded in his left scalp. He also had moderate hearing loss in his left ear and abrasions on his hand, finger and knee, Richards said.

Starnes died of three gunshot wounds — one to the chest, one to the flank and one to the hip. A drug test showed Starnes had amphetamine, benzodiazepine, buprenorphine and marijuana in his system at the time, according to Richards’ statement.

Richards’ statement doesn’t offer a possible motive for Starnes’ actions that day, which over several hours included a string of thefts and an attempted armed robbery.

However, an Iron Mountain Police Department report shows an anonymous caller told officers Starnes had been upset the night before and said he was going to find a way to get to a north side Iron Mountain hotel where people were selling methamphetamine. The caller believed Starnes was on his way to this motel when he stole a vehicle about 8 a.m. Aug. 27.

Iron Mountain police got a report at 8:45 a.m. Aug. 27 about a Chevrolet truck being driven recklessly through the BOSS Snowplow lawn on East Industrial Drive in Iron Mountain, according to the IMPD police report.

The truck then was seen going onto the nearby Systems Control property, where police found it abandoned in the parking lot, still running. Officers noticed a pistol case on the driver seat that was open, as well as .357 ammunition scattered on the seat and ground outside the truck, the report states.

Police determined the truck belonged to a man who lives on Norway Street in Iron Mountain. The man told officers he and his wife saw his vehicle driving away about 8 a.m. as they sat in their home. The man said he thought his grandson might have borrowed the truck, according to the report.

Checking in his garage, the man noticed someone had gone through his tool box and his loaded Smith and Wesson .357 pistol was missing from the bottom drawer, the report states.

Believing an armed suspect may have fled into the woods near Systems Control, police advised nearby establishments — including Systems Control, Boss Snowplow, Edwards Chevrolet, MJ Electric, We Energies and Bay College West — secure their buildings by going into lockdown mode.

Falcon, the department’s police dog, was brought in but could not locate a scent, according to the report.

When police managed to arrange for Systems Control employees to check their vehicles, a male employee noticed his Ford Focus, which had been two spaces from the stolen truck, was missing, the report states.

About 10:30 a.m., dispatchers received a call that a man driving a car that matched the Ford Focus had attempted to rob a 61-year-old woman at gunpoint at a Withworth Avenue home in East Kingsford, according to the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department report.

The woman told deputies she had just returned home when she noticed the Ford Focus pull into her driveway. She said the male driver, who she didn’t know but later was identified as Starnes, walked into her garage and leaned into her car as if looking for something, the report states.

When confronted, Starnes turned around, pointed a gun at the woman and threatened to rob and kill her, according to the report.

The woman fled back into the house and contacted 911, the report states.

A short time later, Johnson saw the Ford Focus on Barton Street in East Kingsford and gave chase until the fleeing vehicle crashed into a tree on a private drive off Skidmore Drive in East Kingsford, according to the report.

Starnes and Johnson opened fire at each other, with both being injured and the squad car hit in the windshield and the driver’s side and rear-door windows, according to Richards’ statement.

Other law enforcement officers arrived within a minute. Both Johnson and Starnes were taken to Dickinson County Memorial Hospital, where Starnes died and Johnson was treated and released.

Starnes’ autopsy took place Aug. 28, according to the sheriff’s department report.

Additional investigation revealed Starnes also attempted to enter two vehicles in the Amidon Apartments parking lot about 8 a.m. Aug. 27, according to the IMPD report.

In addition, the owner of the Ford Focus reported someone who lives on East G Street in Iron Mountain found his debit card in their driveway and turned it over to his bank, the report states. Police believe Starnes may have attempted to break into other houses or vehicles in that area after taking the Ford Focus, according to the report.

Starnes also stole a wallet and money from a truck on Barton Street in East Kingsford and then went into a vehicle at a nearby business, the sheriff’s department report states.

Nikki Younk can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 41, or nyounk@ironmountaindailynews.com.