Murder suspect reportedly broke into seasonal cabins
Photo by Linda Gallagher
Pictured is the unoccupied seasonal cabin on a rural two-track section of Green River Road in Chestonia Township that the man suspected in last week’s fatal shooting incident is believed to have stayed at for as long as several weeks.
MANCELONA – The man authorities believe fatally injured a Chestonia Township resident and wounded another may have broken into three different cabins, staying in one of them for as long as several weeks before the March 10 incident.
According to neighbors, Robert Vincent Gerring, the man accused of fatally shooting Daniel Sutherland, knew the Sutherlands and may have been staying with them after his release from prison last September.
Gerring, 29, a graduate of Kalkaska High School, had been serving a 14-60 month sentence for attempting to strangle a former girlfriend in 2016, but was paroled.
In October, Daniel Sutherland's wife Debra was seen walking with Gerring on more than one occasion, said one neighbor, who did not want to be identified.
"I think the family had known him when he lived in Mancelona before he went to prison," the neighbor said. "She may have been trying to help rehabilitate him."
That effort apparently failed at some point when Gerring was asked to leave the Sutherland's home, located at the intersection of M-66 and Green River Road, the neighbor stated, adding, "Daniel Sutherland didn't like him."
The situation came to a head on Saturday March 10, when Gerring reportedly broke down the door of the Sutherland's home, forced entry inside, then shot Sutherland at point-blank range with a 12-gauge shotgun.
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