ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – A Delta County jury is deciding the fate of Jacob Cronick, the man charged with shooting his former father-in-law, Eric Parrotta.
In January of 2024, Cronick’s ex-wife and four men, including Parrotta, arrived at his home to collect her personal property. The two had finalized their divorce in December.
Cronick told Parrotta to leave several times, and the men got into a verbal argument. Cronick testified that he was afraid of Parrotta due to past confrontations. However, he believed Parrotta would never hit him.
During their argument, Parrotta knocked Cronick’s phone out of his hands. At that moment, Cronick said he thought Parrotta intended to kill him, leading him to pin Parrotta against the hood of a vehicle.
Other men jumped into the fight, including Cody Richards, who wrapped his arm around Cronick’s throat and said he would “put him to sleep.”
Cronick testified that he believed he was “about to be killed.” He said when he broke free, he could not see clearly, identifying the other individuals only by the colors of their coats.
Cronick pushed past three people before shooting Parrotta, who had his arm raised. According to Cronick’s testimony, he thought Parrotta was pointing a gun at him. However, the responding officer that day says Cronick did not mention seeing another firearm that day.
Cronick’s trial began on Monday. Witnesses testified throughout the week, including Parrotta. Cronick testified for most of the day on Thursday. On Friday, the prosecution and defense gave their closing arguments.
One of County Prosecutor Lauren Wickman’s primary arguments was the size difference between the men, with Cronick being over six feet tall and weighing about 260 pounds and Parrotta weighing about 130 pounds, standing a few inches under six feet, and having been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She also focused on the fact that Cronick did not tell the responding officers he saw another weapon, as well as the moments between the fight and the shooting.
“At the point he escapes from Cody Richards’ grasp, Cody is not looking at the defendant, John’s not looking at the defendant, Alex is not looking at the defendant, Eric is not looking at the defendant, but he’s 20 – 25 feet away with three people in between him,” Wickman said. “Can the defendant honestly and reasonably fear Eric Parrotta at that moment? Nobody moves towards the defendant after he escapes Cody’s grasp. Not only are they not looking at him, they don’t make a move towards him.”
Cronick’s defense attorney, Michael Boyle, urged the jury to make its decision “according to how the circumstances appeared to him at the time,” citing Cronick’s testimony saying his vision was like being underneath a sheet. Boyle said while Cronick is larger than Parrotta, the “constant mental aspect” of Parrotta’s treatment of Cronick over the years is significant to the case. Boyle also noted that Cronick sought to secure protection in the form of a personal protection order from law enforcement and the courts, but an order was never granted.
“To Jake, he was being choked,” Boyle said. “‘Put him to sleep, Cody.’ Everyone’s still there, no one retreating from his driveway, but to Jake, everyone was still coming. Everyone was still there. Everyone was still around, until he saw a final threat… Seeing this, under the circumstances—under his circumstances, as he saw it—was a reasonable, deadly threat… The mental warfare, the constant attention, always on guard, always concerned. Consider all the circumstance that he has endured.”
Cronick faces one charge of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and a felony firearm charge.
The jury began deliberating just before noon on Friday. The jury will continue to deliberate daily through the weekend, breaking only for meals and at 8 p.m.
Click here to read more about defendant Jacob Cronick’s testimony.
