Son of slain man shoots self

ALLEGAN, Mich. (WOOD) - Hours after her brother shot and critically injured himself behind a restaurant while being pursued by police, Kelly Donovan stopped to apologize.

"This is family stuff that shouldn't have been brought here," a tearful Donovan said at the Village Inn Restaurant on Friday. "I'm so sorry this happened. I'm so sorry."

Her brother, Roger Polmanteer, 50, is considered the prime suspect in the shooting death of their 73-year-old father , Ll oyd Polmanteer. The incident happened at the family's farmhouse on 14th Street near 115th Avenue in Allegan County's Watson Township, Allegan County deputies said.

Lloyd Polmanteer's body was discovered Thursday by his granddaughter, who first noticed him through a window.

"It happened right there in that living room on that couch," Donovan said, pointing to her father's home. "He shot my dad in the heart, and my dad didn't die easy. He died right there in the house. My brother did it right here."

Their dad grew up in the area, was well-known among local horse lovers, and often helped with 4H, letting kids raise their animals at his farm, his daughter told 24 Hour News 8.

"My dad was giving right up to the end," Donovan said. "I don't know what I'm going to do without him."

He met their mom at the Village Inn years ago, when she worked there as a waitress, his daughter said. He was a regular there, though restaurant workers said they didn't know his son.

"All of his kids seemed to be successful until Oxycontin, until meth," Donovan said. "My brother fell off the wagon and was gone. For three years this has been going on."

She told 24 Hour Hour News 8 she believes her brother was driven by the need for money -- for drugs.

Allegan detectives confirmed they are looking at robbery as a motive.

"We're missing coins, we're missing guns, we're missing a lot," the sister said.

Allegan deputies on Thursday released her brother's name, listing him then as a person of interest in the death and considering him armed and dangerous.

Friday morning, Polmanteer stopped for breakfast, ordering eggs over easy, sausage, potatoes and toast, his waitress said. He asked to sit at a back table.

"He was kind of weird because he was wearing a hat and he had his jacket up all the way over like he was trying to cover himself," restaurant owner Patrick Hiemstra said.

Hiemstra and the waitress had heard reports about the homicide on the news Friday morning, along with Polmanteer's name.

The suspect's sister said she believes he went to the restaurant to target his ex-wife and daughter, a student at Allegan High School, which is next door. She says the ex-wife drops the girl off at school in the morning. Allegan County Sheriff's Lt. Frank Baker says deputies have heard the same speculation and are investigating.

When Polmanteer tried to pay with his father's credit car, the waitress recognized his name, leading the restaurant owner to call 911. The owner said he watched as Polmanteer walked outside and around toward the back of the restaurant, where police said he had stashed a small-caliber rifle.

The first officer arrived quickly and ordered the suspect to put up his hands, Hiemstra said.

"At that point, he ran, and you could hear the cop screaming, 'He's running,' and then you could hear the cops screaming, 'He's got a gun,' then you could hear one or two gunshots go off," Hiemstra said.

Deputies say the suspect fired a single shot to his head, witnessed by a sheriff's deputy, and that it happened in seconds. Officials are trying to determine if it was the same rifle used to kill his father.

Authorities told 24 Hour News 8 police did not fire a shot.