MIDLAND COUNTY, Mich. – A Michigan man has pleaded no contest after he “accidentally” shot his girlfriend and then drove her to a hospital two hours away in an attempt to try and conceal what actually happened.
William Otis Callaway, 58, pleaded no contest to the charges of discharge of a firearm in or at an occupied structure, causing serious injury and felony firearm on July 30, 2025. He faces up to 30 years in prison for the discharge of a firearm charge as a habitual offender, according to a release from the Midland County Prosecutor’s Office. There is a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence for the felony firearm offense.
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The charges stem from a shooting that happened on Sept. 12, 2024, at Callaway’s then-girlfriend’s home in Lee Township.
Authorities learned about the shooting when Callaway brought the girlfriend and her 12-year-old granddaughter to the Gerber Memorial Hospital in Fremont to be treated for a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
Callway had said that the injuries happened at a Park and Ride location that was near the hospital.
However, the granddaughter eventually told authorities what actually happened.
Callaway was allegedly intoxicated and target practicing with a .22 caliber gun outside of the Lee Township home when he shot toward the front door, and a bullet went through, striking his then-girlfriend.
“Then, in an effort to avoid legal consequences for his possession and use of a firearm when he was a prohibited person (not allowed to possess firearms due to his criminal record), and for shooting the victim, Callaway decided to load the victim and her granddaughter in a vehicle and drive two hours away before getting medical treatment. The victim was critically injured and had to be flown to Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids for further emergency medical care. She survived the shooting, but continues to have complications today,” the prosecutor’s office said.
After the grandchild revealed what had happened, Callaway admitted to “accidentally” firing the gun toward the house.
He was arrested at the hospital, and a search warrant was executed at the Lee Township home the following day.
During the search, authorities found the handgun and spent cartridges.
Callaway has a “substantial criminal record” and has prior prison sentences, according to the prosecutor’s office.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 25, 2025.