Jacob Cronick

ESCANABA — The trial for an Escanaba Township man who allegedly shot his ex-father-in-law starts today.

Jacob Cronick, age 29 of 8311 County Road 416 J Road is charged with one count of felony firearm and one count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder or by strangulation.

The firearm charge was added in the final pretrial hearing in September by Prosecuting Attorney Lauren Wickman.

The charges stem from an incident on Jan. 21, 2024 involving Cronick at his home when five people came to retrieve property belonging to Cronick’s ex-wife, Alexandria Parrotta.

Parrotta’s father, Eric Parrotta was one of the men that came to Cronick’s home.

According to police reports and testimony in open court, Eric and Cronick were not on good terms, and Cronick made it clear that Eric was not allowed to be on his property.

Cronick told Eric to leave his property the day of the shooting, prompting an altercation between the two. The other men who came with Eric intervened, and the men were eventually separated.

Cronick then allegedly drew a 9mm Ruger SRT pistol, prompting the men to retreat towards their vehicles.

According to the police report, Cronick became the aggressor and pursued Eric with “what seemed liked focused intent.”

Eric was shot in the abdomen with the bullet entering his stomach and exiting his left side. He was transported to UP Health System in Marquette by Guardian Flight.

Cronick fully cooperated with law enforcement following the incident. He waited for them in a chair in his front yard and did not resist arrest.

He informed police that they could confiscate his gun, which was unloaded on a table inside his home. In addition to the firearm, police also seized a spent shell casing located in the driveway where the altercation took place. They also confiscated Cronick’s iPhone — which contained video of the argument before the shooting — and the digital video recording unit (DVR) for Cronick’s security camera system.

Jury selection begins today with the trial to follow. The trial is scheduled to last through Friday.