Man wanted for questioning in connection with fatal Ypsilanti Township shooting commits suicide
A man wanted for questioning in connection with a fatal shooting Thursday night in Ypsilanti Township committed suicide Saturday at a Romulus hotel after police officers announced they were outside his room, Romulus police said.
Romulus police Det. Sgt. Derran Shelby declined to release the man's name this afternoon because he wanted to ensure all family members had been notified.
The man shot himself in his room at Howard Johnson Metro Airport hotel at 7600 Merriman Road about 9:25 a.m. Saturday, as officers with the U.S. Marshals Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Task Force were closing in, Shelby said.
"Prior to entering the room, they heard one gunshot and subsequently they discovered the subject had fatally shot himself," Shelby said.
No charges had been filed against the man, who was being sought for questioning in connection with the fatal shooting of 27-year-old William Lewis-Armstead of Superior Township, Washtenaw County sheriff's deputies said.
A woman also was in the room, but Shelby said he didn't know how she knew the man and whether she was taken into custody. Officers executed a search warrant at the room, but Shelby declined to say what was recovered.
Deputies continue to investigate the killing of Lewis-Armstead, who was found dead about 11:30 p.m. Thursday in an industrial area in eastern Ypsilanti Township. He died of a single gunshot wound to the head, the county medical examiner's office said.
Deputies have not provided a specific location of where his body was found or said where they believe he was killed. It's unclear what led up to the shooting.
His family members declined to comment this afternoon.
Lee Higgins covers crime and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at (734) 623-2527 and email at leehiggins@annarbor.com.
Comments
REBBAPRAGADA
Sat, Feb 12, 2011 : 5:05 p.m.
I read this story as I am always interested to learn about the nature of man and as to how he exists in the world. I describe man as a physical, mental, social, moral, and spiritual being. While man could be totally corrupt in his behvior, in essence he still exists as a moral being. Man experiences grief for his acts of moral failing. Man expresses remorse for his actions of omission and commission. This man had ended the existence of his physical being as it was not compatible with the existence of his moral being.
jrtluvr1959
Thu, Feb 10, 2011 : 3:41 p.m.
Thanks Rich I did not know of the forum. Thanks for directing me to that page. I didn't want to start anything just was saying what was on top of my mind
RJA
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 : 6:57 a.m.
This story is so sad. The familys of both victims will be in my thoughts and prayers.
treetowncartel
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 : 5:16 a.m.
When you buy a house they are supposed to let you know if someone died in it. Does anyone know if when you rent a hotel room the hotel is obligsated to let you know someone died in it?
Stefanie Murray
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 : 5:10 a.m.
This thread has turned into a conversation about our conversation guidelines and I'd like to steer the topic back to the story, please. If you wish to discuss moderation, you can do so on this thread: <a href="http://www.annarbor.com/about/comment-moderation-guidelines-meant-to-cultivate-community-forum/">http://www.annarbor.com/about/comment-moderation-guidelines-meant-to-cultivate-community-forum/</a> Further off-topic comments will be removed. Thanks.
snoopdog
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 : 1:48 a.m.
An all around horrific situation, I feel bad for the family members of the deceased individuals. Appears the man called in for "questioning" took justice into his own hands. Kudos to the Romulus police for keeping all innocent persons in the vicinity safe and out of harms way.
Ricebrnr
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 : 1:26 a.m.
Please let us know if the gun was used in both shootings and the name of the suicide when available. Considering the U.S. Marshals Detroit Fugitive Apprehension Task Force was after him, I'm guessing he wasn't allowed to own a gun in the first place.
Rich Rezler
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 : 1:17 a.m.
@ jrtluvr1959: Yes, it's true that we have different moderation standards than MLive and other media outlets. As our guidelines state: "We're committed to actively moderating the comments and posts on our site to help promote and maintain a civil forum where neighbors feel comfortable talking to each other about local issues." If you'd like to join the discussion on our moderation policy -- something we welcome and encourage -- I would kindly ask you to do do so on that page: <a href="http://www.annarbor.com/about/comment-moderation-guidelines-meant-to-cultivate-community-forum/">http://www.annarbor.com/about/comment-moderation-guidelines-meant-to-cultivate-community-forum/</a>
jrtluvr1959
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 : 1:06 a.m.
You know how AnnArbor.com is part of the M-Live papers...Well so is Jackson Citizen Patriot, I was reading some of the comments on some of the articles in their paper and they can say whatever they want. Like what they would do for punishment to some criminals. Like we try to do on here but we can't because we "violate"
Barb's Mom
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 : 3:04 a.m.
The Jackson Citizen Patriot needs to monitor and remove more comments and improve their reporting. My daughter was murdered in Jackson in November. The comments on the articles and the first 2 articles that were written about this crime were very biased against my daughter who did nothing wrong. The third article made it into AA.com because of her obituary being submitted and saying she was a graduate of Huron High School. We appreciated the guidelines that shield victims families.
Rich Rezler
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 : 1:02 a.m.
@MikeMartin: Actually, your comment won't be removed because it doesn't violate our conversation guidelines. As you might imagine, enforcing those conversation guidelines in a story that deals with a death and/or the presumption of innocence until proven guilty are certainly a challenge. But it is our policy on crime stories that we enforce a guideline that does not assume guilt and does not allow comments that contain unsubstantiated allegations. Thank you for your understanding.
Cash
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 : 10:52 a.m.
Rich, A civilized society here...one of the few safe places to make comments! Thank you for what you do. Cash
MikeMartin
Wed, Feb 9, 2011 : 12:38 a.m.
Love all the removed comments. There is a lot of buzz in town about the censorship thing. Are you sure you guys aren't going too far? I assume you'll remove this one too.
seldon
Tue, Feb 8, 2011 : 10:14 p.m.
Okay, really? One comment, and it's already been moderated? Why do you guys even leave comments open on crime stories, when the only ones people seem to be allowed to make are: 1. "my feelings are with his/her family", or 2. criticisms of your moderation policy, like this one