Three Lansing residents were arraigned Friday, Dec. 22, in connection with the murder of a 21-year-old East Lansing resident more than a year ago.
Cornelius Alden Brown, 29, and Sam Jones III, 25, were arraigned in 54-B District Court on open murder charges for the Dec. 15, 1999, shooting of Shemika Rogers. The charge could carry a life sentence.
Camille Denise Dabney, 26, was arraigned as an accessory after the fact, a felony charge which could carry a five-year sentence and $10,000 fine.
Rogers was shot numerous times while sitting in her car in the parking lot of Homestead Apartments, 426 W. Lake Lansing Road, where she was a resident. The Lansing Community College student died five days later due to a gunshot wound to the head, officials said.
Rogers’ 3-year-old son was in the backseat of the vehicle during the shooting, but was unharmed.
“We had one witness we knew about on the date of the crime - that was a 3-year-old boy,” East Lansing police Lt. Tom Johnstone said.
Rogers was originally from Detroit and had been an East Lansing resident for at least a year prior to her death.
The three suspects were arrested Thursday, Dec. 21, in south Lansing. All three have previous criminal records.
Police said drugs may have played a role in the shooting. Rogers, her boyfriend and the three suspects were acquaintances, but police declined to comment on how close their relationships were.
“This was not a random act of violence and definitely could be taken back to a drug culture,” Johnstone said.
Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said the arrests were made a year after the crime thanks to “good police work.”
