Michigan man who allegedly killed 13-year-old girl during 45-hour crime spree now accused of double homicide
A Michigan man who recently went on a 45-hour crime spree in June, allegedly killing a young girl and sexually assaulting two women, is now also accused of killing a couple weeks before, police said.
The Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office has announced they've filed murder charges against Isaiah “Zeke” Gardenhire, 40, in connection to the deaths of Harley Owens, 39, and his 29-year-old girlfriend, Kelsey Coon-Lennon.
According to Lansing police, on April 28, Owens and Coon-Lennon were fatally shot. The couple’s bodies were discovered three days later, on May 1.
The new charges against Gardenhire are in addition to the dozen he already faces for the earlier murder and assaults, Flint’s WJRT-TV reported.
On June 6, Gardenhire allegedly stabbed to death his girlfriend’s 13-year-old daughter, Adrie Dembowske, at a home in Union Township, according to the station.
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He then went on the run and allegedly committing 12 felonies for which he’s also charged: open murder, armed robbery, carjacking, first-degree home invasion, and first-degree criminal sexual conduct using a weapon, three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with multiple variables, and two counts each of unlawful imprisonment and assault with a dangerous weapon.
Gardenhire turned himself into Flint Township Police Department officers several weeks after the crimes. At his June 8 arraignment for those charges, Gardenhire acted erratically, flipping of the judge and interrupting court proceedings, mlive.com reported.
The judge reportedly ordered a psych evaluation to determine if the suspect was fit to stand trial for the June crimes.
“We have no timetable on his next court date as this essentially stops the process until a competency determination is made,” Isabella County Prosecutor David Barberi said at the time, noting, “This could take several months.”
Gardenhire has a long criminal history and had bonded out of jail just four days before the June crime spree after he was arrested on a charge of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim 13 or younger that allegedly occurred in 2015, according to mlife.com.
He previously spent time in prison on two separate convictions for crimes ranging from home invasion to firearm offenses.
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