Rewind: News Highlights From The Last 7 Days

Lansing police officers fatally shot a domestic violence suspect in the 1600 block of Massachusetts Avenue late Friday night. LPD said the officers were dispatched at 11:23 p.m. for a domestic assault call. Meanwhile, a neighbor called 911 and reported hearing a gunshot and a woman crying. Police arrived at 11:26 p.m., when they said Stephen Luis Romero, 33, was armed. “At that point, an officer-involved shooting occurred,” LPD said. Shots were fired at 11:27 p.m., after which police administered first aid. The suspect was brought to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Chief Ellery Sosebee would not say whether Romero had shot at officers first, but he confirmed that two LPD officers are on paid administrative leave and that the Michigan State Police is investigating.

 

Two people have been charged in a fatal shooting outside the Capital Area District Libraries’ South Cedar Street branch on Nov. 27. Marquan Jackson, 27, of Lansing, was charged with homicide, discharging a weapon from a vehicle, carrying a concealed weapon and three felony firearm counts for allegedly shooting Joseph Martinez, 30, in the library’s parking lot just after 6 p.m.. Following the incident, Martinez went inside seeking help. He died in a hospital shortly after. Jackson, who faces a life sentence if convicted, was with Autumn Houser, 25, at the time of the shooting. She has been charged with one count of accessory after the fact, with a potential sentence of up to five years. Both were denied bond, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Dec. 15.

 

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s visit to East Lansing on Wednesday was met with two groups of protesters. As he spoke at a public service forum hosted by former Gov. Jim Blanchard at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, Buttigieg was flanked by ticket-holding members of Climate Defiance, a youth environmentalist organization. As Buttigieg began to discuss climate change, some of them rushed the stage, chanting “Petrol Pete,” and were escorted out by security. MSU Police arrested and charged one of them with disorderly asemblage and conduct. Another group of several dozen protesters congregated outside around the parking garage to picket and demand that Buttigieg and the Biden administration call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

 

Attorney General Dana Nessel has issued arrest warrants for two Clinton County couples who have adopted dozens of children whom they allegedly abused “for personal financial gain.” Nessel’s office brought 36 criminal charges against Dewitt residents Joel and Tammy Brown and Jerry and Tamal Flore (pictured). Filed in the 65A District Court in Clinton County, the charges allege abuse against eight of the nearly 30 children the couples had adopted since 2007. All four were previously charged for abuse allegations, Nessel’s office stated, but they were dropped for the Browns and reduced for the Flores. The defendants have until Friday (Dec. 8) to turn themselves in voluntarily.

 

Jacobo Montalvo, the man charged in the murder of a 29-year-old Lansing woman in October, was ordered Friday to stand trial, the LSJ reported. Montalvo, 57, allegedly abducted Alicia Gallegos from downtown Lansing on Oct. 15. Police say recovered video footage appeared to show someone taking Gallegos near East Lenawee Street and South Washington Square and noted that person drove an SUV. The next morning, Gallegos’ body was found about 15 feet off the road in a wooded area south of Webberville. On Oct. 21, Police stopped Montalvo for an improper plate in a vehicle matching the description of the one that took Gallegos. GPS data tracedMontalvo to the two locations, and tesimony by three witnesses led 55th District Judge Donald Allen to rule that there was probable cause to believe Montalvo was responsible. Other evidence included photos allegedly found on his phone that depicted Gallegos tied up with her hands behind her back, plus duct tape and zip ties found in the vehicle. Montalvo is being held without bond at the Ingham County Jail.

 

Ulana, a 19-year-old lioness at Potter Park Zoo, was euthanized Thursday, having suffered from spinal disease, which had worsened considerably in recent weeks. Born in 2004, Ulana was moved to the Potter Park Zoo in 2011 along with her sister, Saida. The pair joined up with Kota, a male lion, and the three became a staple attraction for visitors. “Ulana was not just a lioness; she was family. Witnessing her strength and grace was a privilege,” said her keeper, Annie Marcum. The median life expectancy of lions is 16.9 years. 

CORRECTION: Because of a reporting error, an item in last week’s Rewind incorrectly identified Avis Damone Coward as the father of the child who fatally shot himself with Coward’s gun in Lansing on Oct. 24. Coward was not the boy’s father. City Pulse apologizes for the mistake.