LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Lansing Police Dept. Chief Ellery Sosebee has released a statement on Thursday regarding the murder of Ted Lawson, Ingham County Democratic Party Secretary, and the subsequent booking of a 15-year-old Lansing boy as a suspect.
“The senseless murder of Theodore Lawson speaks to the careless mindset of a very small section of our most violent offenders. It is too often, these acts of violence, are by youthful offenders with no value of consequence or accountability,” Sosebee wrote in the statement. “I applaud Prosecutor Dewane for his firm stance on gun violence. Based on the evidence gathered, the suspect’s intent was to get money from the victim in an attempted robbery. There is no evidence or information this was related to any political motive or affiliation.”
Ingham County authorities earlier this morning released the booking photograph of Lamar Kemp, 15 of Lansing. Kemp is charged with murder in the shooting death of Ted Lawson over the weekend.
On Wednesday a judge ruled Kemp would be charged as an adult. County authorities now confirm Kemp is being held with other adults in the Ingham County jail.
Ingham County Prosecutor John Dewane on Thursday released a statement about the charges against Kemp as an adult.
“Unfortunately, this year we have experienced a number of youthful offenders illegally carrying guns and engaging in both fatal and non-fatal gun violence throughout Ingham County,” Dewane said in the statement. “While Mr. Kemp is 15 years old, the decision to charge him as an adult was made after careful consideration of the nature of this offense and Mr. Kemp’s previous interactions with our court system.”
Police responded to a shooting Sunday at 3:01 p.m. on the 1100 block of North Jenison Avenue, discovering Lawson who was wounded from a gunshot. Lawson was taken to a nearby hospital with assistance from the Lansing Fire Department where he later died.
In court on Wednesday, Ingham County Prosecutor John Dewane confirmed Lawson was shot and killed while canvassing and it did not appear the shooting was politically motivated. Dewane did not specify any other reason for the shooting.
Kemp is scheduled to be back in court on Oct. 20.
