Thanks to a reader for sending the following information about James Vincent Gunnels, victim and companion of Christopher Busch and Greg Greene.
https://mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2/otis2profile.aspx?mdocNumber=186011
As of December 16, Gunnels’ status with the Michigan Department of Corrections is “Absconder from Parole,” from Kalamazoo, Michigan. He is on parole for sale/delivery of meth.
Gunnels is the epitome of the child rape victim described in the June 17, 1977 editorial from the Traverse City Record-Eagle I posted yesterday. Emotionally and spiritually murdered, unable to erase emotional scars, may turn to lives of crime, drug addiction or prostitution. 2019-12-30_191653
None of Gunnels’ criminal history involves prostitution or violence of any kind to children. He has steadfastly maintained he knows nothing about the OCCK crimes. Another victim of Busch and Greene, (two years younger than Gunnels, who was born in 1961) who was also used as a lure to get kids close enough to abduct, was very forthcoming with investigators in March of 2008. He told investigators that Busch had him perform oral sex on a boy that Busch had brought down from up north and stated that it was the same boy that the police showed him a picture of in 1977 that was dead and identified the boy in 2008 as Tim King. 2019-12-31_083622. This victim also told police Busch kept handcuffs and a pistol in his car. He was clearly afraid of both Busch and Greene, as I’m sure Gunnels was.
But unlike this victim, Gunnels is saying nothing. As criminologist, Dr. Michael Arntfield opined in a recent podcast, these people, including Ted Lamborgine and Arch Sloan, are probably not talking out of fear of a person or people in high places, or their legacy. https://www.spreaker.com/user/jreubenappelman/episode6final. Gunnels was a minor when the OCCK crimes took place. He has had multiple chances to be honest, but he will never go there.
There is a lot about Vince Gunnels online and I have discussed him at length in my blog. Here’s a little more about Vince Gunnels.
From 2011:
And from 2012:
And from 2014:
When I find the transcript of a prison phone call recorded between Vince and his sister, provided in response to a FOIA request, I will post it. You can read it and decide for yourself if Detective O’Dell’s “license and registration, please” response noted above isn’t just a little defensive for good reason.