The residents had to deal with a trashed apartment and several items stolen, including perfume and a Nikon camera, with a sum value of over $4,500. Police collected used condoms, lighters and marijuana paraphernalia, according to the report. One roommate also noticed that some of her underwear was taken out of its drawer. 

"There were used condoms in their bed," Tann said. "It looked like he’d been staying there for a couple of days."

The police report noted that there was a jail property bag found in the apartment with the suspect’s belongings in it.

East Lansing Police Department officers quickly realized they were familiar with the suspect, who they believed was a repeat offender who had been arrested the night before at McDonald's for fighting an officer. The jail property bag came from that arrest, according to the police report. 

The police later confirmed it was him by using the information on a McDonald’s receipt found in the apartment that matched with the arrest. They also cross-referenced the initial picture the resident took when she saw the suspect on the couch with the bodycam footage from the prior arrest. 

“A suspect has been identified, and charges have been requested from the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office,” Lt. Adrian Ojerio of the East Lansing Police Department told The State News. 

The victims of the first break-in soon learned their apartment might not have been the only one the man entered. On Jan. 6, there was another reported break-in at Water’s Edge nearby.

"He told my son and his roommates that the same thing happened to him," Tann said. "The man with the same description was (in the student’s apartment), waved a gun at him and ran off."

When asked about the second break-in, Ojerio said "there was a report of a second break-in."

"That case is still open," he said. "ELPD does not discuss the evidentiary details of open or pending cases."

Asked if an arrest had been made at the end of January, Ojerio said "charges have not been issued yet by the Ingham County Prosecutors Office." He added that "there is no current danger to people."

There are disagreements between the roommates and the police as well as Cedar Village regarding how the intruder entered the apartment. There were no signs of forced entry, according to the police report. 

The roommates believe he accessed the unit by breaking the handle on the balcony door, while the police suggest he entered through an unlocked main door. 

"There is always a risk that if you leave things unsecured, they may be stolen," Ojerio said. "The best advice to everyone, and the number one prevention of 'crimes of opportunity' is to lock your doors."

The police report stated that the resident thought she left her apartment door unlocked before leaving for break. The report also said there were no signs of forced entry into the apartment. But a couple days later, Tann said, one of the roommates saw that the handle on the outside balcony was broken.

“The police did not inspect the outside balcony and had ruled that out as a point of entry," Tann said. "When I asked why, they said it was too hard to get up on the balcony."

Tann has generally been unimpressed with the police response.

"The police came and the officer that had been originally assigned to the case came over and said that they didn’t want to be bothered with it because it was the end of their shift," Tann said. 

The apartment complex's response has been inadequate too, Tann said. Cedar Village had not yet fixed the resident’s back door handle over a month after the break-in, she said. 

On Jan. 27, the roommates went to the fitness center in the apartment complex. Tann said one of them was looking around and opened a door to an office that ended up having all their stolen belongings as well as what appeared to be belongings of the victim of the second break-in, along with police records and identification that belonged to the suspect. 

“The police records indicated that he was in prison for 15 years for a class 2 felony,” Tann said. 

After this discovery, Tann said her son and his roommates received a letter from Cedar Village stating that they are in violation of their lease. 

“They claim this violation is in reference to them allowing friends to access their apartment by climbing through their balcony and if a second violation occurs, they will be evicted,” Tann said. 

But Tann thinks that's not the reason for the violation notice. 

“I feel that since we’re trying to put pressure on them, they are now harassing the students and there is no support for the victims. They told the other student that they couldn’t support this report because their security cameras weren’t working.”

Asked about the robberies and the alleged lack of support, Cedar Village Director of Marketing Denise Todd originally told The State News, “I have no comments as this incident is still being investigated."

Todd later followed up and commented referring to the victims: “We are working with the people involved. We have not heard of any unhappiness.”

“We’ve met with them face to face and it was a positive experience.”

Todd also denied the claim about the door handle.

"It is my understanding that the door handle is fixed," Todd said.