Lansing - Lansing police expect to issue a warrant by the end of the week for the arrest of two men responsible for assaulting three MSU students at gunpoint.
After interviewing the students Monday, Lansing detectives say they have enough information to name two suspects and request a warrant for arrest from the Ingham County prosecutor today or Wednesday.
"This is very promising. There's no doubt that we got the right two people," Lansing police Detective Marcel Holloway said. "It looks really good."
Once apprehended, the suspects will likely be charged with three counts of armed robbery and one count of home invasion, Holloway said. Armed robbery carries a sentence of up to life in prison.
The Lansing Police Department knows the approximate location of the suspects but could not reveal detailed information for fear of jeopardizing the investigation. Officials did say the suspected men were not MSU students.
One of the students assaulted, 29-year-old Kurt Richmond, heard a knock at the front door of his Dover's Crossing apartment late Wednesday night. When he answered the door to the apartment he shares with 23-year-olds Josh Warstler and Scott Durnion, a man pointed a silver handgun at him and assaulted him with pepper spray. All three are turfgrass management students.
Police say the intruders might have mistaken the students' apartment for a nearby residence where a drug bust occurred about two months earlier but were off by one room. The apartment complex is located at the intersection of Jolly and Dunckel roads.
The MSU Department of Police and Public Safety participated in the investigation, which began last week.
MSU police Chief Jim Dunlap said university officers were investigating an unrelated case but came across relevant information.
"We were able to provide some suspicion in the Lansing case," he said.
Police have been investigating evidence, including fingerprints left by the intruders, and checking with nearby stores because one of the men's credit cards was stolen and used shortly after the attack.
Richmond said he's happy progress has been made but wouldn't comment further.
Hopefully the investigation will progress smoothly and develop into arrests, the students' adviser David Gilstrap said.
"Swift action by the LPD hopefully helps restore a sense of safety and well-being for these students and their friends and families," he said.
Chad Previch can be reached at previchc@msu.edu.
