Friday, March 29, 2024

What you missed: E.L. crime update

August 16, 2006

Homeless man found in Red Cedar

The body of 57-year-old David Ralph Christopher, a local homeless individual, was found floating in the Red Cedar River by canoeists July 22. East Lansing police were able to identify the body and notify Christopher's family, but police have not yet determined the exact cause of death.

An autopsy performed on July 24 revealed no obvious signs of foul play and the suspected cause of death was drowning. Police, however, are still waiting for a complete autopsy and toxicology results, which will determine Christopher's blood-alcohol level at the time of death. Those results will not be available until about mid-August to early September, according to police.

The body was found by a woman and her two children while they were canoeing in the river near Americana Apartments, 1128 Victor St.

Michigan State Police assisted in the initial investigation and used a dive team and forensic unit to look for evidence. Police estimated the time of death was about 24 to 36 hours before the discovery of the body.

Former student faces arson charges

A former MSU student living in Illinois will undergo court proceedings in East Lansing district court for a 2003 arson charge after he was informed July 11 of a three-year-old warrant out for his arrest.

Kyle Thomas Manning, a 22-year-old who attended but did not graduate from MSU, was told by Bloomington, Ill., police about the warrant and was arrested at his home. Bloomington police Officer Dave White said the Illinois police department received a request for Manning's arrest from the East Lansing Police Department.

Manning will be charged with an arson of personal property valued at less than $200 misdemeanor as part of a plea agreement, an assistant Ingham County prosecutor said. According to the agreement, Manning will not have to contend with the unlawful assembly felony charge against him.

Manning appeared in front of 54-B District Court Judge David Jordan and pleaded not guilty on July 17.

Hubbard Hall assault trial on hold

A trial date for Roy Lee Holt, arrested in connection with an alleged Feb. 23 assault at Hubbard Hall, has been suspended indefinitely in order for him to undergo psychiatric testing, according to the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office.

On Feb. 23, three assailants — one with a handgun — threatened three occupants of a South Hubbard Hall room. One of the assailants poured gasoline on an individual in the room and threatened to light it.

MSU student Albert Reginald Robinson, 19, and nonstudent Joel Ross Hamlar, 17, also arrested Feb. 23 in connection with the alleged assault in Hubbard Hall, are continuing their preliminary examinations Sept. 8, Robinson's defense attorney said.

A preliminary examination determines if there is enough evidence to go to trial.

Both men's examinations started June 23 and continued through July 28.

Hacker pleads guilty to 1 count

Brandon Yuille, charged with hacking into and downloading copyrighted material from a Harrisburg, Pa., company's Internet server, filed a guilty plea in federal court June 21 and now awaits sentencing.

The sentencing date will probably be scheduled in mid-August, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Martin Carlson said.

The plea to only one of three counts against Yuille is part of a plea bargain, Carlson said in a July 13 article.

Mobile X-Ray Imaging Inc., a company that provides medical diagnostic services out of Harrisburg, discovered a break-in after hiring a computer consultant to help fix a slow Internet connection.

On Feb. 10, FBI agents arrested Yuille, searched the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity where he lived and seized two computers believed to have been involved. Yuille, a then-computer science sophomore, was later charged with two counts of computer intrusion and one count of copyright infringement.

Home invasion suspect awaits trial

No trial date has been set for a man accused of home invasion and assault with intent to commit sexual penetration, according to the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office.

Walter Thomas Webster, a 34-year-old Lansing resident who also has an address in Rockford, Ill., is charged with first-degree home invasion of a second-floor apartment and the attempted assault with intent to commit sexual penetration of the woman residing there.

Webster is also charged with the attempted first-degree home invasion of a residence on Sunset Lane.

At about 3 a.m. on June 8, East Lansing police responded to a call about a woman screaming from her apartment, located on the 200 block of West Saginaw Highway.

An assailant entered the woman's apartment through an unlocked screen door on her second-floor balcony, police said. The assailant allegedly tried to sexually assault her, but she fought him off for about five minutes while screaming and creating noise to alert neighbors.

Projector thief awaits trial date

No trial date has been set yet for an MSU student accused of stealing MSU-owned data projectors and selling them, according to the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office.

Jason William Trew is charged with criminal enterprising — a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison — in connection with at least 20 on-campus incidents resulting in the theft of more than 35 data projectors. During his arraignment May 26, he pleaded not guilty to the charge against him.

According to an MSU police press release, Trew was arrested outside of Bessey Hall May 26 for possessing "burglary tools," including a crowbar. Trew was also found to be in possession of data projectors stolen from MSU, which would be sold to buyers in different states, according to the release.

Trew said in a June 2 story that he wasn't arrested outside of Bessey Hall, but turned himself in May 26 after a warrant for his arrest was released.

His defense attorney, Michael Maddaloni, said in the same June 2 story that Trew went to the police for questioning, but didn't think he was under arrest.

The MSU police department refused to release the police report or allow contact with the arresting officer.

A Michigan Freedom of Information Act appeal for the police report is still pending.

Defendants plead guilty in scam

Eight former MSU students charged in connection with a mid-March MSU Federal Credit Union scam pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge as part of a plea bargain Aug. 1 in district court.

The defendants said in court they knowingly used or gave a third party their credit union account information to withdraw more than what was in their accounts.

One of the defendants did not appear at the court proceeding's scheduled time and another defendant's case was adjourned until mid-August.

The scam involves using ATM cards or PINs that are sold or given in exchange for money deposited into accounts. Anyone with access to the accounts can deposit stolen or bad checks and quickly withdraw money before bank employees notice the checks are not good.

Many of the transactions were done outside the city, which made it harder for bank employees to catch. Account holders are told to say their information or cards were stolen, or relatives deposited the money, if they are questioned.

Each of the 10 MSU students originally faced a criminal enterprise charge — a felony with a penalty of up to 20 years. Many of the cases were transferred by Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Joyce Draganchuk in mid- or late June, according to court records.

Only misdemeanors can be ruled on in a district court.

Many of the students will be considered for the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act.

According to the act, those between the ages of 17 and 20 years old — without prior convictions — who are charged with an offense punishable by more than one year of imprisonment, can be put under probation instead.

The act also stipulates that if the probation is completed and the court doesn't terminate the status, then charges against defendants will be dropped and convictions will be expunged from their records.

All proceedings regarding the assignment of the status to a requesting defendant are closed to the public, according to the act.

Discussion

Share and discuss “What you missed: E.L. crime update” on social media.