An 18-year-old Lansing man accused of holding a Red Robin employee hostage and firing eight shots in the Delta Township restaurant faces 16 charges and the possibility of life in prison, according to the Eaton County Prosecutor.
Levon Tarele Pate was pulled over by the Michigan State Police fugitive team on Sunday because he was wanted for questioning in the double homicide of two Lansing-area women, Eaton County Sheriff Rick Jones said.
Cousins Elizabeth "Betsy" Lowe, 24, and Brandy Lowe, 21, were found shot the morning of Oct. 10 in Lansing's Walsh Park, north of Potter Park Zoo, Lansing Police Lt. Bruce Ferguson said.
Betsy Lowe died that day, and Brandy Lowe died Oct. 11, he said.
Ferguson said it still was not known what the women did Saturday night or how they got to Walsh Park.
He said the police have not identified a suspect yet, but they've been talking with a variety of people.
Pate and Jonathan Hicks, 20, were two of the people officers wanted to speak with about the murders. They were in a car with two women when they were stopped.
But when they reached the curb outside the Red Robin, 6524 W. Saginaw Hwy., Pate left the car and ran into the restaurant, firing a shot at the pursuing officer, Jones said. He fired eight shots inside, where about 80 patrons were eating dinner.
Police say Pate reloaded his pistol, then grabbed a 19-year-old DeWitt waitress by her neck. She pleaded with him as he held a gun to her head, saying she was pregnant. He took her out a side door, then approached an empty, running car behind the restaurant, Jones said.
As the State Police, Lansing Police Department and Eaton County Sheriff's officers approached him, Pate fired at them, Jones said. The officers retaliated, and Pate was struck in the chest. The waitress was hit in the leg, but was not seriously injured.
Pate was taken to Lansing's Sparrow Hospital, where he remained until Wednesday afternoon, Jones said.
Hicks was arrested on two outstanding warrants, including an August felony assault charge, Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said. Both were unrelated to the Oct. 10 homicide. The driver, Ashley Tarrow, was charged with possessing a felony firearm, said Theresa O'Dell, legal assistant for the Eaton County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
The other woman in the car was questioned and released, Jones said.
Anyone with information on the Lowes' homicide is encouraged to call (517) 483-STOP.
