News Highlights from the Last 7 Days

Residents in Lansing’s Westside Neighborhood were rattled early Thursday when gunfire erupted shortly before 1 a.m. Lansing police spokesperson Jordan Gulkis said officers responded to the 100 block of Lahoma Street. “Officers conducted a neighborhood canvass and located numerous bullet holes in a residence,” Gulkis said. No one was injured. No one was arrested either, and the Police Department continues to investigate. Anyone with information is asked to call LPD at 517-483-4600. 

 

A man’s shooting death is Lansing’s fifth homicide of 2023. The victim, whom officials have not yet identified, was found early Sunday near the intersection of Cherry and St. Joseph streets and pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Lansing State Journal. No suspects have yet been named by police. 

 

An Ingham County man was convicted of a 2008 murder by a jury. Brad Cournaya was found guilty on a premeditated first-degree murder charge, even though the body of Krista Lueth, his girlfriend at the time, has never been found. He was already serving prison time after being convicted of soliciting a minor for sex in 2017. Ingham County Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Bill Crino brought the case to trial by working with the victim’s family, other agencies and citizens who provided information. Murder cases without the victim’s body being found are rare, but Ingham County Prosecutor John Dewane was able to tie Cournaya to the case with forensic and circumstantial evidence. Cournaya is scheduled for sentencing in August. Michigan law requires life without parole for first-degree murder convictions. 

 

Lansing Deputy Mayor Jane Bais-DiSessa is no longer employed by the city. DiSessa was “let go” by Mayor Andy Schor, said Lansing City Council President Carol Wood. Council was informed of DiSessa’s exit June 9. There was no information provided to the Council for her departure, which Wood said is normal. “Unless there was a severance or some other legal issue, the mayor can hire and fire people as he sees fit from his office,” Wood said. “They are at-will employees.” As a general rule, city officials do not discuss personnel matters, said Scott Bean, the city’s spokesperson. Bean said there was no severance package provided to DiSessa. She had been on the job for 16 months, earning an annual salary of $145,003.81. Schor’s administration would not comment on DiSessa’s departure beyond stating she was a “valued member of the Lansing administration” and her work was “appreciated.” 

 

Seven students or their families are joining the MSU mass shooting civil lawsuit, the Lansing State Journal reported. The families of the three students who were killed in the shooting and the families and/or attorneys of four of the five students who were injured have filed notices of intent, which is required by state law to sue government institutions. Representatives for Yukai “John” Hao, who was paralyzed in the shooting; Hanyang Tao, who was shot in the back; and Brian Fraser and Arielle Anderson, who were killed, are the latest to signal their intent. Last week, attorneys for Alexandria Verner, Nate Statly and Troy Forbush filed notices, claiming MSU had insufficient safety measures in place, and that the school didn’t hold enough active shooter training or drills. The university is upgrading its building security, installing locks on classroom doors and working with Lansing police to set up a Strategic Operations Center. The center will monitor all surveillance cameras also being installed. 

 

Two men have been charged with murder following a May 7 shooting in Reutter Park, the Lansing State Journal reported. If convicted, Kelley Whitt, 57, and Jacob Curtis, 24, face up to life in prison without the chance of parole. The shooting occurred in the evening, when the two men allegedly went to Reutter Park and confronted 48-year-old Lewis Hill. An argument over money ensued, with Hill and Whitt struggling over a long gun, police said. Curtis then allegedly got out of a car and shot Lewis with a handgun. Curtis is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Thursday (June 29), and Whitt has a hearing set for July 6. 

Lansing is installing 25 electronic speed signs around the city. The signs were purchased with approximately $90,000 in federal COVID relief funds. They show the speed of oncoming vehicles and record data for police, but they do not have license plate readers. They are meant to “educate” and “encourage” drivers to maintain safe speeds, Lansing Police Chief Ellery Sosebee said. The signs mark the next phase of Operation Slow Down, which was implemented in 2020 after drivers increased their driving speeds because there were fewer vehicles on the streets. Twenty of the signs will be placed evenly among the city’s four wards, with the final five being placed in areas with high numbers of speeding complaints.