Two men have been charged with attempted robbery in an incident that resulted in the shooting death of 29-year-old Ypsilanti resident David Isaac Copeland near North Campus Wednesday night.
University engineering student Andrew Robert Myrick, who police say killed David Copeland in what may have been self defense, has not yet been found and is wanted for questioning. Twenty-year-old Michael Don Bailey of Ypsilanti, another suspect in the attempted robbery, remained at large last night.
Davin Copeland, 29, and Derrick Howard, 23, both from Ypsilanti, were charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery, first degree home invasion, conspiracy to commit first degree home invasion and a felony firearm charge in connection with Wednesday’s incident, police said. The pair was arrested Thursday and arraigned Friday morning.
The four men are suspected of attempting to break into and burgalarize Myrick’s residence at 1528 Jones Drive. During the invasion, there was an apparent exchange of gunfire. The fourth robbery suspect, David Copeland – the twin brother of Davin Copeland – was shot and left dead in Myrick’s home. Police said 12-15 shots were fired and that a weapon similar to an AK-47 assault rifle was found at the scene.
Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Diane Brown said it appears that Myrick’s student account was accessed from an Angell Hall computer shortly after the shooting occurred on Wednesday night.
Brown said the computer was taken by police for evidence.
Police said they don’t believe the University community is in danger.
“My personal opinion is this was an isolated incident off campus, and this guy happens to be a University of Michigan student,” said Sgt. Richard Kinsey of the Ann Arbor Police Department.
At this point, it’s unclear whether Myrick will be charged for his role in the shooting death.
The Detroit Free Press reported that police have stopped searching for Myrick, saying that the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office declared the shooting a “justifiable homicide.”
The Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Police added that they have been in contact with Myrick’s family to persuade Myrick to cooperate in the investigation.
“We still want to talk to him and it’s still under investigation,” Sgt. Paul Curtis of the AAPD said.
While there may be no criminal charges stemming from the shooting death, Myrick was charged with a misdemeanor possession of marijuana in the case, police said.
“Normally, residential robberies have more to them than just a robbery. Somehow the victim is targeted,” Kinsey said. “Robbers don’t just knock on a door and decide to rob a house randomly. They’re going to have some information or some reason. Many times that involves some type of illegal activity they’ve got information about.”
On Saturday evening, a person claiming to be Andrew Myrick left a comment on an article posted on The Michigan Daily’s website expressing remorse for the shooting.
“I would give ANYTHING to have not been home at the time,” the message says. The message also says that Myrick is “NOT some crazed lunatic” and that he doesn’t have any ill intentions.
The message writer claims to be unarmed and to be making arrangements to approach the police with the assistance of Student Legal Services. Myrick posted the same letter on his Facebook profile.
Doug Lewis, the director of Student Legal Services, said he couldn’t disclose whether Myrick was a client or not.
The AAPD was informed of the comment and plans to begin investigating it today, police said.
DPS issued a third crime alert yesterday, saying that the AAPD was still seeking both Myrick and Bailey. It also said there were several reported sightings of Myrick on campus, but none of the reports resulted in correctly identifying him.