‘Prisoner of my own home': Ionia woman claims suffering due to neighbor's frequent firing of large caliber guns

Yahoo

2 days ago

IONIA, Mich. (WLNS) — A woman in Ionia County claims she's been a prisoner in her own home for years because of her next-door neighbor's backyard shooting.
Lois Laroe has lived in her Ionia home for decades, and while she says she's reached out to Ionia Township officials multiple times, she also says nobody will do anything about it.
Whether it's during the day or at night, Laroe says she hasn't had a moment of peace since her next-door neighbor, Casey Wagner, moved in 3 years ago.
Laroe says her neighbor uses high-caliber guns and uses tannorite as well, which she says causes loud explosions.
'I haven't been out in my yard to do anything,' said Laroe. 'I mean, I'm a prisoner of my own home.'
Laroe says the explosions are not only destroying her quality of life, but also damaging her property.
'I've got a hole in the windshield of my car from March 18,' said Laroe.
She also claims she's found evidence of retaliation, but hasn't gotten any help from authorities.
'We found a balloon that said 'Snitch' on it,' said Laroe. 'I've been down to the sheriff's office several times. I have been everywhere asking for help.'
Greg Sipka, Laroe's neighbor, says he also frequently hears gunshots and explosions near his home, and that it got so bad, he had to file a police report.
'You'd hear them at 10:00 at night. You'd hear them at 6 a.m. You'd hear them at 2:30 at night,' said Sipka.
'It took two days to get a sheriff to come to my home to take the report, and then after seven weeks, approximately,' said Sipka. 'Checked with the sheriff's office, and the case had been closed.'
Sipka says back in September, township and state officials held a meeting to try to resolve the issue.
'At the time, Township Supervisor Ionia County [sic] Kurt Scheurer read it with Representative Gina Johnson that this point forward, we're going to be issuing citations,' said Sipka. 'You can't be doing these explosions.'
According to 'No person shall disturb the public peace and quiet by loud or boisterous conduct.'
So, 6 News reached out ot the Ionia County Sheriff's Department, and received a statement from Sheriff Charlie Noll:
'We have an open investigation on this situation. I will not make any comments on this at this time.'
Sipka claims Wagner stopped for a few months between September 2024 and January 2025, following a meeting with Representative Gina Johnson and a local pastor. However, Sipka and Laroe claim that Wagner still continues the explosions.
Laroe claims Wagner has not been cited, and urges township leaders to do more to protect community members.
6 News reached out to Ionia Township officials by phone and email multiple times throughout the week. We also went in person to township offices, but were told no one was available, and there were no set business hours.
We also reached out to Wagner by phone, by text, and attempted to reach out in person. We also attempted to reach out to his father, Richard Wagner, by phone. We did not receive a response from him.
6 News will keep you updated as soon as we receive an update from Wagner, the sheriff's office, or township officials.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.