EMU Today

YPSILANTI – The man who admitted guilt in three separate vandalism incidents at Eastern Michigan University that occurred in fall 2016 and spring 2017 was sentenced to two to five years in prison and must repay the University for the cleanup of the racist messages he spray-painted on campus buildings.

Eddie Curlin was sentenced today (Monday, May 21) in Washtenaw County Circuit Court for three counts of malicious destruction of property related to the vandalism incidents along with four charges of unrelated identity theft that were discovered in the investigation of the vandalism incidents.

In sentencing Curlin, Judge David Swartz ordered him to repay $812 in restitution to the University for cleanup costs along with $1,472 to the Capital One credit card company in connection with the identity theft charges.

Curlin, 29, was given credit for 220 days already served of the sentence. He also was issued a permanent trespass notice by the University, which provides that he is not allowed to enter the campus grounds.

He is currently in custody of the Michigan Department of Corrections serving an 18-month to five-year sentence on an unrelated charge of receiving and concealing stolen property. That sentence will run concurrently with the new felony sentences.

On April 23, before Judge Swartz, Curlin admitted doing the damage to the three buildings in question, pleading guilty to those charges and no contest to four counts of identity theft. Malicious destruction of property is a misdemeanor under Michigan law while identity theft is a felony.

The charges stem from incidents that took place in September 2016 at King Hall, in which a hate message was found spray painted on an exterior wall; an October 2016 incident in which a racist message was discovered spray painted on an exterior wall of Ford Hall; and, a third incident that took place last spring in which a racist message was found in a men’s restroom stall in Sherzer Hall.

The investigation into the vandalism cases showed that Curlin vandalized the buildings and then acted as an informant to police on the pretense of helping to solve the cases in order to have the other previous criminal charges dropped and be allowed to return as a student to Eastern Michigan University.

In investigating the racist vandalism incidents over a 13-month period, the Eastern Michigan University Police Department committed more than 1,080 hours, equivalent to 135 full-time, eight-hour days. More than 60 people were interviewed and a reward of $10,000 was offered. More than 1,200 hours of video from more than 100 campus cameras was reviewed, as well as video from nearby businesses. In addition, nearly 20 search warrants were executed; a large number of pieces of evidence were processed and analyzed; and data from numerous cellphones were evaluated.

External agencies involved in the investigation were:

·       Federal Bureau of Investigation

·       Michigan State Police

·       Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Department Community Action Team

·       University of Michigan Police Department 

·       Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office

·       Ypsilanti Police Department

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest university in Michigan. It currently serves 20,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Health and Human Services; Technology, and its graduate school. EMU is regularly recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website.