NASA executive and former cop charged with shooting and killing neighbor he fought with over poop

NASA executive and former cop is charged with shooting and killing a neighbor he argued with for years over dog poop left outside

• Michael Hetle, 52, of Springfield, Maryland, was arrested for the murder of his next-door neighbor 24-year-old Javon Prather on Tuesday 
• Hettle, a NASA executive who also was a police officer, was charged in second degree murder for the fatal shooting of Prather
• Prather’s mother says Hetle and her son had argued for years, citing the fights were over dog poop left outside
• Prather had been a National Guardsman whose death was mourned by other service members and Maryland’s Gov. Larry Hogan
• Hetle had been a cop in Bellevue, where he was involved in two fatal, in-the-line of duty shootings and was cleared in both incidents
• One of the shootings, however, resulted in Bellevue paying the victim’s family a $75,000 settlement

By Ralph R. Ortega For Dailymail.com

Published: 02:12 GMT, 5 March 2020 | Updated: 02:12 GMT, 5 March 2020

A NASA executive who also was a police officer was charged in Maryland with fatally shooting a nextdoor neighbor whom he had argued with for years over dog poop that was left outside. 

Michael Hetle, 52, of Springfield was arrested for the murder of 24-year-old Javon Prather on Tuesday. 

Prather died after authorities found him shot on the 7700 block of Bedstraw Court around 4:50pm, authorities said. 

NASA executive Michael Hetle who also was a police officer, was charged in Washington State with fatally shooting Javon Prather, a nextdoor neighbor whom he had argued with for years over dog poop that was left outside

Javon Prather, 24, who was fatally shot on Tuesday, had been a supermarket worker and a member of the Maryland National Guard

Prather died after being found shot on 7700 block of Bedstraw Court around 4:50pm, authorities said. Investigators are pictured at the crime scene moments after the fatal shooting

Both men reside on Bedstraw Court, reports the Washington Post. Officers who arrived on the scene and treated Prather were unable to save him. 

Hetle was taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder, the Post reports.

The career civil service man is the executive officer to the associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, according to the space agency.

In addition, he conducts outreach for the directorate and ‘interaction activities with all NASA field centers, industry, associations, academia and other government agencies.’

Hetle also had been an officer on the Bellevue Police Department, where he was cleared of two in-the line shootings. One of them, however, resulted in the city paying a $75,000 settlement to the family.

NASA declined to comment on whether the agency was aware of Hetle’s tenure with the Bellevue police, reports the Post. 

Images (pictured) were posted on Twitter in memory of Prather, a supermarket worker who also was a National Guardsmen

Prather’s mother says Hetle and her son had argued for years, citing the fights were over dog poop left outside, reports NBC4.

‘He’s been giving my son and his wife problems for a very long time,’ Shavon Prather told NBC4.

Her son, a supermarket worker, had been a member of the Maryland National Guard.

His death was mourned by other service members, as well as Maryland Gov. Lary Hogan.

Prather’s death was mourned by other service members and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who asked all residents in his state to join send ‘heartfelt prayers’ to the victim’s family

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