Man connected to April 24 shooting charged with 10 weapons, assault counts
File Photo of Isabella County Trial Court
A Farmington Hills man known to be a suspect in the April 24 shooting is facing 10 counts of various weapons and assault charges. His arraignment was held Wednesday afternoon with Chief Judge Eric Janes presiding over the court.
Kenneth Wayne Thomas Jr., 21, a Navy veteran who recently returned after two years of service, was charged with two counts of assault with intent to commit murder. These charges potentially carry a life sentence.
Janes gave Thomas a $1 million bond. He is currently scheduled for a 9 a.m. May 13 preliminary hearing.
Additionally, Thomas faces two counts of discharging a gun in a building and causing serious injury, five counts of felony firearm and one count of discharging a gun at a building known to be a home.
Thomas is accused of shooting Tyler Bunting, a senior from DeWitt, and John Keller, 20, a CMU quarterback.
Keller's father, Ray, said his son is in stable condition and "moving in the right direction." He is still on a ventilator, and the next step in the recovery process will be getting off of it. Bunting remains in stable condition.
A GoFundMe campaign was set up to assist Keller's family with medical costs.
According to the criminal complaint, a fight broke out at a party hosted by CMU football players in Deerfield apartments. The altercation resulted in Thomas and another subject, Cameron Wyatt, being kicked out of the apartment.
An unnamed witness watched Wyatt take out a long gun from a silver Chevy Impala and fire a shot into the air. Thomas removed a smaller gun, later identified as a Draco rifle, from the car and started to walk toward the apartment.
The witness said they tried to stop Thomas before he entered the apartment but was shoved aside. Thomas fired three times inside the apartment. Keller received a gunshot wound to the chest while Bunting was shot in the side/abdomen.
Video footage obtained by investigators showed another subject named Luther Williams and yelling, "We got to get out of here," to Thomas, Wyatt and another man the witness called "Shaun." The men fled the scene in an Impala.
Another witness said Thomas, Wyatt and Shawn arrived in Mount Pleasant the Wednesday prior.
In an April 29 email to campus, President Davies said the university is, "keeping in close contact with both students and their families."
"This was a frightening moment for our community, and I know many of you may still be navigating some fear and anxiety," Davies said in the email. "Do not hesitate to reach out for support if you need it — we are here to lift each other up."
