When East Lansing resident Ricard Taylor, 34, entered the Rite Aid on the morning of May 12, his first intention was to buy a bottle of eyedrops, Rite Aid salesman Brian Czerwinski testified in 54B District Court in East Lansing Friday morning.

Once selecting the eyedrops, Czerwinski said Taylor approached the pharmacy and asked who would be responsible for side effects.

“I mentioned it would have been the pharmacist,” because, Czerwinski said, he couldn’t make medicinal recommendations.

Czerwinski said Taylor then starting asking strange questions and made suggestions that his “eyes might bleed” or “fall out.”

It was then Taylor met Michael Addo, a pharmacist at the Rite-Aid. After a short discussion about the drops, Taylor went to pay for the item but couldn't. Czerwinski said Taylor left to get another form of payment, and came back around 11 a.m.

Czerwinski said Taylor returned, claiming he was a doctor and wanted to show Addo his credentials. Czerwinski, becoming suspicious, told Addo, who went into a consultation room with Taylor shortly after.

Then Czerwinski said he heard gunshots and screaming. Addo was shot at 11:07 a.m., according to police reports.

"I saw him (Taylor) leaving the store," Czerwinski said. "He made a smiling gesture toward us. He didn't run, he was just walking out the store."

Czerwinski then went to check on Addo. After opening the door to the consultation room only slightly, Czerwinski saw multiple gun shells on the floor. 

"I saw his legs, and then I saw him lying on his back," Czerwinski said. "His face, his right eye was either beaten or shot. There was a big bruise."

The second victim

After police arrived on scene, a K-9 search left them empty-handed.

But they didn't have to wait long for a lead.

Six minutes later, police responded to a second shooting at the 1800 block of Coolidge Road.

It was then East Lansing resident Isaiah Meyers, 17, awoke to hear gunshots at his neighbor's house.

"I heard someone running past my window screaming for help," Meyers testified.

It was Jordan Rogers, 27, the second shooting victim that day.

Meyers said he opened his front door and saw Rogers lying on the mat in front of the door.

"There was a hole in his shoulder," Meyers said. "He said he was dying."

After ambulances came for both victims, they were later pronounced dead.

Taylor was later arrested after a three-hour-long standoff with police.

Piecing it together

Lansing police Det. Brad St. Aubin was the third witness called to testify Friday in court, and said once two witnesses identified Taylor as the shooter and he was brought into custody, he admitted to shooting the two men with no prodding whatsoever.

"He said he didn't like the answers the pharmacist was giving him," St. Aubin said, referring to Addo.

"He said 'he rubbed me the wrong way,' I said, 'so you went back and shot him?' and he said 'yeah, I went back and shot him,'" St. Aubin testified. 

As for Taylor's motive for allegedly shooting Rogers, St. Aubin said Taylor wanted to "finish what he had started the night before."

Rogers, a neighbor to Taylor, had gotten in a verbal argument the evening prior.

St. Aubin said Taylor confessed to going home after shooting Addo, reloading his gun, and then knocking on Rogers' door. Taylor then backed Rogers out of the house and shot him.

Upon entering the home, Taylor saw a child sleeping on the couch. Taylor didn't want to shoot Rogers in front of the child, St. Aubin said.

At the time, Rogers lived with his fiancee and was a soon-to-be stepdad to three daughters. 

Rogers' relatives were in court Friday, audibly weeping when St. Aubin explained how Rogers died. 

St. Aubin also testified he found many things Taylor said to be strange, including his paranoia of believing his life was in danger from "shooting an important person ... the African dude."

Taylor reportedly told St. Aubin he had just applied to work in the Central Intelligence Agency, and claimed to have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from working as a cook in the Navy.

"Some things were extremely odd, I'll say that," St. Aubin said. 

Despite oddities, Taylor was found competent to stand trial earlier this month.

East Lansing 54B District Court Judge Richard Ball set Taylor's next court proceeding for Sept. 10, and bound the case over to Ingham County Circuit Court in Lansing.