Bowling faces up to 30 years in prison in cop’s murder

An article by Leslie Shepard    No Comments

The man on trial for the killing of a Livonia police officer in January pleaded no contest on Monday, Sept. 26 to second-degree murder in Oakland County Circuit Court before Judge Michael Warren.

Terry Bowling, 49, was charged with felony murder for the Jan. 17 shooting death of Larry Nehasil, who resided in Milford.

Bowling also pleaded no contest to home invasion-first degree and assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer.

He faces up to 30 years in prison — as opposed to a prison term of life without parole — when he is sentenced Oct. 19 at 1:30 p.m.

The day of the shoot out, Bowling and his brother, David Bowling, entered the Walled Lake area after being evicted from their Detroit rental home, to collect a $30 debt owed them. On the way out of that local home, they noticed a neighboring homeowner leaving, and seized the opportunity to rob that home.

During the break-in, the pair stole a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun from a residence in the 100 block of Glenwood. The handgun stolen from the residence was the same gun used to shoot and kill Nehasil.

Nehasil was part of a six-member Livonia police Intelligence Bureau Team working on the case involving a string of break-ins in the metro Detroit area. The team was surveilling the suspects when Terry Bowling spotted police before loading their cache of stolen goods.

Terry Bowling attempted to back out a vehicle and struck an undercover police car blocking him. David Bowling ran out the home’s back door, and Nehasil followed him.

Seven shots were fired during the exchange in the backyard. As a result, Nehasil sustained five gunshots to the hip, thigh, buttocks, head and back, but not before he shot David Bowling twice in the chest.

Both Nehasil and David Bowling were killed in the firefight. There were no witnesses.

Police apprehended Terry Bowling following the incident.

Under Michigan law, a person can be charged with murder if someone dies in the course of committing a felony.