East Lansing police are chasing tips they hope will lead them to the culprits responsible for a series of gunpoint robberies last week.
East Lansing police Lt. Kim Johnson said officers are "making good progress" in the investigations of 22 aggressive robberies that have taken place in the city this year. Last week, police arrested three suspects in connection with the robberies.
"We'll get to the bottom of it sooner or later," Johnson said. "Some we solve quicker than others, and others go unsolved. It depends on how much help we get."
Half of the 22 aggressive robberies occurred during upticks in September and June. Thieves have aggressively targeted individuals walking alone at night, banks, convenience stores and gas stations - but no one has been seriously injured.
Police say two of the most alarming robberies occurred on Sept. 21 when two female MSU students were approached in separate incidents by armed assailants demanding their belongings.
Investigators are flushing out information provided by the victims and witnesses in those cases, which are believed to be related.
"We don't have any magical dust to sprinkle on these cases and a suspect appears," Johnson said. "The community does wonders for our job. Without their help, we'd be at an extreme disadvantage."
The number of aggressive robberies so far this year put the city on pace to match East Lansing's 33 robberies in 2002. There were 29 in 2001 and 14 in 2000.
Between 1998 and 2002, there were 26 armed or unarmed robberies reported on campus that resulted in 16 arrests, according to the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety's annual report.
The totals aren't surprising to John D. Moore, the author of the Armed Robbery Training Manual, who says aggressive robberies are a widespread problem.
While it is difficult to curb the number of aggressive robberies, Moore said training is effective in helping victims react when they are targeted. Training, he said, is especially effective for store clerks who are familiar with their surroundings.
"It is more dangerous when you are in a remote locations and you don't have any surroundings you can use," said Moore, the CEO of the Spokane, Washington-based Armed Robbery Training Associates.
What is most troubling is the unpredictable nature of robbers, who often begin a criminal lifestyle at a young age by committing less aggressive thefts, Moore said.
"Throughout their entire life, they started with petty theft, stolen cars, burglarizing homes," Moore said. "They've worked themselves up to robberies."
The simple thefts are a problem on campus where about 4,300 larcenies were reported between 1998 and 2002, resulting in 295 arrests.
A recent 31 percent increase in thefts from campus buildings has sparked an investigation, MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said.
The investigation resulted in the arrest of James Devon Lackey, 31, who is accused of assaulting a police officer who was investigating the thefts.
Lackey was arraigned at 54-B District Court on Tuesday.
Officers in Meridian Township arrested a suspect in the Tuesday robbing of the Capital Area School Employees Credit Union at gunpoint on Monday.
Meridian police and the FBI are searching for a second suspect, identified as John Charles Anderson, 20.
Those with information are asked to contact Meridian Township Police Department at (517) 347-5060.
Steve Eder can be reached at ederstev@msu.edu.
