ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – A jury trial continued on Wednesday for Jacob Cronick, who is being charged with shooting his former father-in-law, Eric Parrotta.
Following two days of witness testimony, Parrotta took the stand himself. He was primarily asked about the moments just before the shooting.
On January 21, 2024, Parrotta, his daughter Alexandria, and three other men went to Cronick’s home to collect Alexandria’s property. While they were there, Cronick and Parrotta got into a verbal argument.
Parrotta testified that Cronick told him he did not want him there. Parrotta said while he now knows the property was Cronick’s, he believed the property belonged to both Cronick and Alexandria. The two had recently finalized their divorce.
Security camera footage and cell phone videos show Parrotta saying he could pay to post his photo on a billboard. Parrotta then takes his phone out and points the camera at Cronick, who is recording the interaction with his phone.
“Just so you know, that’s all considered harassment,” Cronick says.
“Not if it’s true,” replies Parrotta.
The video shows Cronick moving toward Parrotta, then Parrotta’s brother separating the two. The group argues for a while, with Cronick saying, “he needs to leave.”
After some more discussion, Parrotta says he is there to make sure Cronick doesn’t “hurt [his] daughter again.”
“I never hurt your daughter,” Cronick says. “I actually have the messages of her admitting she hit me, so nice try.”
Cronick is still speaking when Parrotta is seen knocking Cronick’s phone out of his hands. Cronick then grabs Parrotta and pins him against the hood of a vehicle.
The other men become involved in the fight, then the group separates. Video then shows Cronick walking a few steps away, turning around with a gun in his hand, and walking toward Parrotta. He is seen pushing past or touching three of the other individuals before firing at Parrotta’s abdomen.
During Wednesday’s court proceedings, much of Parrotta’s testimony was about that moment, including when he first saw the gun.
“I guess I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and I thought it was posturing,” he said. “‘I have a gun. I’m going to wave it around. I’m going to scare you guys.’ And that worked; I was scared. I mean, if I thought I was going to get shot, I’d be running like hell.”
Delta County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Mike Groleau was one of the responding officers the day of the shooting. He testified that while he initially believed Cronick may have acted in self-defense, he changed his mind after seeing the footage.
“He broke away from the scuffle, walked away from it, pulled out a firearm, wrapped around into the chamber, and then proceeded back into the group he had just walked away from,” Groleau said.
Cronick faces one charge of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and a felony firearm charge.
The trial continues on Thursday. WZMQ 19 will continue to follow the proceedings as they develop.
