The victim of the alleged cab robbery testified Thursday morning in the preliminary exam of Lansing resident Brandon Deval McLittle, charged on multiple counts of armed robbery and one count of unlawful imprisonment.
Hongda Jiang, a food industry management junior, was allegedly robbed and beaten by two unknown suspects in a cab driven by McLittle and run by iCab Taxi Service early Dec. 9.
The prosecutor in the exam, Russel Church, asked most of the questions, having Jiang go through the events of the night he was robbed.
Jiang had taken a long-distance cab for a day trip to Chicago to shop and see a friend, he said, paying McLittle around $400, including a tip, for the ride down and arriving around 2 p.m. Jiang said he spent “a couple thousand” dollars in Chicago, including a trip luxury clothier Hermes, charging it to his credit card.
Upon returning to East Lansing around 1 a.m., Jiang stopped at an ATM to withdrawal more money to pay McLittle the remaining $600. At this point McLittle asked if he needed help withdrawing money, which Jiang described as a “little weird.”
Jiang, who said he was familiar with the East Lansing area, was looking down at his phone when he noticed McLittle missed a turn taking him to his home on Hannah Boulevard, then asking McLittle to turn around. The defense attorney for McLittle, Karen Phillips, suggested that, since McLittle had only been a cab driver for a short period of time, he might not have known the area very well.
McLittle, in the original press release, claimed that he was given wrong directions and pulled over into a parking lot.
“He just pulled over at the parking lot and he started looking at his phone,” Jiang said, although he wasn’t sure if he was looking at a map or texting. McLittle told him he was looking at directions on his phone, however Jiang said he knew the area and could direct him there without a map.
After this, two men came up to the cab and claimed they needed help. McLittle unlocked the door and the two men entered the cab.
“It happened in a snap, very fast,” Jiang said.
Jiang also pointed out that he thought a car had been following them after McLittle missed a turn.
The two individuals began beating Jiang and searching through his items.
“Both started hitting me, hitting my head,” he said. “I start(ed) bleeding.”
The two suspects also threatened him during the robbery, he said.
“Just stay there, don’t move, don’t move,” Jiang reported being told. “If you move we’re going to kill you. Don’t call the cops.”
He claimed to be hit with something metallic, describing it as something like a hammer or a baseball bat.
One of the individuals sat in the back with Jiang, while another sat in the passenger side and told McLittle to drive. They drove around the MSU campus, with Jiang at one point recognizing they were by the Breslin Student Events Center. They saw a police officer by the building and took an alternate route. They eventually got on the freeway and ended up in downtown Lansing.
“If you look at me, I’ll just kill you,” Jiang said one of the men told him.
Jiang said he was looking for an opportunity to jump out of the car, but never found one. He also said that he had acted as if he was close to dying, a move which scared the attackers.
The men started searching Jiang, finding two cell phones, one of which was stolen and the other was broken. Jiang noted the two men did not take McLittle’s phone.
He had arranged to have the bag and scarf he had purchased at Hermes shipped to East Lansing, so the items were not in the car with Jiang.
They also took the key to the cab and threw it on the side of the road and ran away. Jiang wanted to follow the two men, but he said McLittle did not want to. Phillips later asked Jiang why he didn’t think that would be dangerous.
After the two men fled, McLittle found the key to the cab on the side of the road and acted nervous. When Church asked Jiang if McLittle expressed sympathy for Jiang, Jiang said that he was most concerned about the lost money and the possibility of losing his job.
McLittle wanted to go to the ATM to get the second part of the payment, something which Jiang agreed to only if they called the police first. He did withdraw around $600, but did not end up giving it to McLittle.
Police were eventually called to a Quality Dairy in downtown Lansing where Jiang spoke to police. Jiang eventually went to Lansing’s Sparrow Hospital where he said he received 14 stitches in his head and got X-rays done on his hand and shoulder, which he said hurt for up to a month after the incident. Doctors also performed a CT scan on his head in case there was more damage done than externally visible.
The preliminary exam concluded with this third witness, who has been at MSU since 2009.
