EAST LANSING – The days-long closure of Wells Hall on Michigan State University’s campus this week apparently stemmed from a meth lab.
In a Wednesday, April 29 evening news release, MSU police said a 31-year-old man was arraigned on felony charges related to operating and maintaining a meth lab and destruction of property.
MSU police said they responded to reports of property damage inside Wells Hall on Sunday, April 26, and found Xin Tong with multiple substances that can be purchased legally, including sodium hydroxide pellets, hydrochloric acid, methanol, isopropyl alcohol, acetone and butane, according to a release from the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety. He was charged with trespassing in 54B District Court for an offense listed on Sunday, April 26, although police did not mention trespassing in their statement.
Wells Hall was closed for three days before MSU announced that information publicly.
In public statements, MSU officials on Monday, April 27 said Wells Hall would be closed for the day after an “unknown chemical” was found in the building on Monday morning. On Tuesday, they changed course and said Wells Hall would remain closed all week.
Late Wednesday, MSU police released Tong’s name in a statement and said he had been arraigned on felony criminal charges for malicious destruction of a building over $20,000 and felony controlled substance-operate/maintain lab involving methamphetamine. He is being held at the Ingham County jail on a $500,000 cash or surety bond.
The release does not specify if Tong has any affiliation with the university.
He was represented in both court hearings this week by a court-appointed attorney, according to online court records.
“This past week, DPPS responded to reports of property damage inside Wells Hall,” MSU Deputy Police Chief Chris Rozman said in a statement. “The damage to the building is directly related to alleged criminal activity. Due to the fact that this is an open and active investigation, we are limited in the information we can share.”
Wells Hall, the largest academic building on MSU’s campus, was supposed to hold 50 exams on Monday before the closure was announced. The building is just East of Spartan Stadium on campus, and is around a half a mile walk away from the Breslin Center, where around a dozen graduation ceremonies will be held at MSU before the end of the weekend.
Michigan State spokesperson Emily Guerrant told the State Journal that the decision to fully close the building for the week was to allow the Office of the Provost to find alternative locations for final exams, instead of leaving students switching back and forth.
Police said Wells Hall will remain closed through Friday, May 1, “as officials continue to evaluate the building to ensure it is safe for occupancy.”
Contact Karly Graham at kgraham@lsj.com. Follow her on X at @KarlyGrahamJrn.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU police say meth lab prompted closure of Wells Hall this week
Reporting by Karly Graham, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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