LANSING — A 19-year-old woman who was shot in the head June 5 at a south Lansing park was hit by a bullet fired toward a passing vehicle, police said.
Lovaya Rodriguez died from her injuries on June 17, police said. Jovanathan Mitchell, 18, of East Lansing, faces murder and weapons charges in connection with her death.
A document filed with 54A District Court by Lansing police indicated the teens were among a group of young males and females “hanging out” in a parking area near Francis Park “when a suspicious looking Dodge Durango drove by slow on Moores River Drive.”
Mitchell pulled a handgun and started shooting at the vehicle, a detective wrote.
“While shooting at the vehicle, Jovanathan shot Lovaya Rodriguez in the head,” he said.
After firing a total of five rounds, Mitchell tossed the weapon in the Grand River, the document said. Crime scene investigators recovered five shell casings at the scene, and the dive team recovered a 9mm Canik handgun from the river, the detective said.
Witnesses said Mitchell also had fired rounds in the air at Dunnebacke Park on Stanley Street, on the city’s north side, and investigators found five more shell casings in the parking lot there, the document said. It was unclear when that incident happened.
Detectives found a photo of MItchell on a social media site holding what appeared to be a Canik brand handgun. They also found surveillance video, captured at a liquor store about an hour before the shooting of Rodriguez, showing Mitchell climbing out of the backseat of a friend’s car while holding a gun, the detective wrote.
Court records indicate Mitchell applied for a court-appointed lawyer but did not list an attorney for him.
The June 5 incident was the city’s third homicide of the year and the second involving a gun.
Tony Austin, 30, was shot and killed in the 100 block of South Hosmer Street around 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 10, police said. No charges have been announced.
Vincent Beeman, 53, was found dead in the 3900 block of Burneway Drive after officers were dispatched to a medical call on Feb. 8, police said. Aaron Paul Mousseau, 31, has been charged in Eaton County in connection with Beeman’s death. It was not clear how Beeman died, but police said it did not involve a firearm.
Anyone with information about the June 5 shooting is asked to call Lansing police at (517) 483-4600, Crime Stoppers at (517) 483-7867 or send a private message through LPD’s Facebook page.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Bullet that killed woman on June 5 was fired at passing car, police said
Reporting by Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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By Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal | USA TODAY Network
