LANSING — A man who pleaded guilty to both an April 2024 murder in Lansing and a separate attempted murder months earlier was sentenced Nov. 24 in Ingham County.
Brian Keith Blalock, 39, was accused of murdering Christopher Stipanuk near downtown Lansing in April 2024. That shooting happened less than a month after he had been ordered to stand trial in a non-fatal shooting at a Lansing hotel the previous January, apparently while he was free on bond, court records indicate.
Blalock pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and assault with intent to murder in connection with those two cases on Sept. 24 in Ingham County Circuit Court.
Circuit Judge Morgan Cole sentenced Blalock to 28 to 50 years in prison on the homicide charge, and 28 to 40 years for assault with intent to murder. He received about 19 months credit for time already served. The two sentences will run concurrently.
Prosecutors agreed to dismiss remaining counts against Blalock, along with a separate drug case brought at the same time as the attempted murder case, in exchange for his pleas.
Blalock had a Detroit address when he was charged in connection with the two shootings in early 2024, according to court records.
The first occurred on Jan. 10, 2024, at a hotel in the area of Pennsylvania Avenue and Cedar Street.
In a preliminary hearing about two months later, witnesses testified Blalock shot a man in the abdomen with a handgun, apparently as a result of an argument involving a dog. Blalock was ordered to stand trial in March of 2024, and 54A District Judge Cynthia Ward set a $100,000 cash/surety bond for him.
The shooting of Stipanuk, 43, happened on April 10, 2024, on North Sycamore Street, near West Shiawassee Street.
Blalock went to an apartment to collect money and began struggling with Stipanuk, who was shot on a stairway and later died, a witness testified during a preliminary hearing in February 2025. Police recovered the handgun used in the shooting the next day, according to testimony.
Court records indicate Blalock’s bond was revoked two days after the shooting, and the bond amount was forfeited.
As part of the plea deal, the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office agreed to dismiss a fourth-time habitual offender notice that would have boosted Blalock’s maximum possible sentences. Prosecutors also agreed to deny active warrant requests by Lansing police for Blalock.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Man who killed Lansing resident while free on bond sentenced
Reporting by Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
