Stolte sentenced to prison in continued domestic violence

BRANCH COUNTY — A Kinderhook Township man will serve five years in prison after shooting his girlfriend with a pellet gun.

Richard Stolte, 50, pleaded guilty to assault with intent to cause great bodily harm less than murder. He also pleaded guilty to using a firearm in a felony.

Circuit Judge Bill O’Grady said the weapons charge requires a two-year minimum mandatory sentence followed by a consecutive 36 months to 10 years for the assault.

Richard Stolte Monday in Circuit Court.
Richard Stolte Monday in Circuit Court.

On Oct. 12, Stolte shot the victim at his Kinderhook Township home during an argument. After the first shot, which hit her, the stunned victim sat down. Stolte then approached her and said he was going to kill her, according to court records. He then fired the pellet gun at point-blank range into her chest.

After several hours, the victim stumbled to a neighbor and called her father, who took her to ProMedica Coldwater Regional Hospital Emergency Department.

Rushed to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, doctors determined the pellet pierced her heart and her lungs were filling with blood. Richter was hospitalized with serious injuries. 

Stolte thanked God for saving the victim's life.

“I didn’t leave you to die. I went to get bandages,” he said during the sentencing hearing.

The victim agreed their relationship was “toxic.”

Circuit Judge Bill O'Grady
Circuit Judge Bill O'Grady

Stolte denied he shot the woman at first trying to get a friend to give him an alibi. The friend denied he was with the victim while Richter was there and said there was blood all over the home when he arrived.

The friend told officers the victim Richter shot her because he was afraid she would turn him in for his drug activities.

Troopers found 6.8 grams of methamphetamine in an ashtray on the kitchen table during their investigation.

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Stolte pleaded guilty to possession of meth. He was sentenced to a concurrent 3-10 years for that crime.

Stolte turned over two long pellet guns to Michigan State Police. Troopers found the pellet pistol used.

Police reports indicate numerous calls to the residence involving domestic violence at the home.

Prior arrest Stolte gets 93 days in jail for throwing hammer at girlfriend’s car

In 2019, the victim broke her jaw by throwing a hammer through the car window as she fled after a mutual affray.

Prosecutor Zack Stempien
Prosecutor Zack Stempien

“They are like vinegar and baking soda," Stempien said. "Put them together and they erupt.”

Stolte served prison time in 2005. In that case, he admitted he sold marijuana and shared methamphetamine with a confidential informant. Sentenced to 76 months to 20 years, he was released in 2012.

— Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DReidTDR.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Stolte sentenced to prison in continued for domestic violence