Michigan Hip Hop Artist Murdered with No Connections Till Now
22-year-old Michael Smith, also known as ‘Michigunna Mic‘ had just begun attempting to establish himself as a hiphop artist in Lansing, Michigan when he was shot and killed in early 2015. While the crime was never solved and no one was ever implicated in Smith’s death, charges have now been brought against 21-year-old Darwin Duval White in connection with the case.
The shooting took place minutes before midnight in East Lansing, MI right on the edge of MSU‘s campus, in a parking ramp on Grove Street. A woman called 911 claiming to have heard 15 gunshots inside the parking garage. Moments later, two men in a red vehicle told the parking attendant that they had been shot at before speeding away.
East Lansing police investigating the scene have stated that they believe it resulted from a drug deal gone bad, and that Smith was seated in the back seat of a parked vehicle when he was shot in the back. Another 21-year-old was shot in the wrist, but was not fatally hurt.
A week after the shooting, police released information about people whom they suspect were involved in Smith’s death. Surveillance videos taken from the 7-Eleven store across the street from the parking garage revealed two men in the store just before the shooting took place. Descriptions released to the public of the suspects revealed that they were both African American men driving a red, four-door sedan.
White has been accused of removing a handgun from the scene of the crime. According to East Lansing Police Lt. Scott Wriggelsworth, White was inside the vehicle with Smith when Smith was shot. But thus far, police have no idea what other role White may have played in the shooting, if any at all. Certainly the East Lansing Police are continuing their criminal investigation.
In fact, for a long time police didn’t even know that White had been present during the shootings or that a weapon had been allegedly removed from the scene before they arrived to investigate. According to Lt. Wriggelsworth, this isn’t uncommon. Homicide investigations often turn up new information along the way that leads to other charges.
White has been charged with evidence tampering and a felony weapons charge. While these are serious criminal allegations, they have not yet brought police any closer to solving the case. Lt. Wrigglesworth says that the East Lansing Police Department is still very actively involved in the case, still pursuing leads and still trying to find Smith’s killer. Our criminal defense lawyers remind you to steer clear of crime scenes until they have been cleared by police.