Kevin Grasha

kgrasha@lsj.com

LANSING TWP. – Randy Minier Jr. worked nights as a cook at Claddagh Irish Pub in the Eastwood Towne Center.

The 27-year-old started as a dishwasher and eventually became a cook, his grandmother said in a telephone interview from her home in Chippewa Lake. It was a job he enjoyed, she said.

"He was a good worker. They loved him to pieces," June Minier said, before adding: "I loved him to pieces, and I always will."

Randy Minier — who was shot and killed Monday by a Lansing Township police officer during a traffic stop — was trying to distance himself from a past that included a handful of felony convictions and time in jail, family members said.

It's not known why Minier, a Lansing Township resident, was carrying a handgun Monday afternoon when a township police officer pulled over a car he was a passenger in. A second officer arrived soon after. As a convicted felon, Minier legally could not have a gun.

He had been convicted of crimes including drug possession and obstructing a police officer, records show. His last conviction, for drug possession, was in 2009.

Two other men were inside the car with Minier. One of those men, 24-year-old Tyrell Washington told the Lansing State Journal that Minier had his hands raised with the gun in the air, trying to show the officers he had the gun.

Washington, who had been driving the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, said he heard an officer yell twice to drop the weapon and then without delay heard the fatal gunshots. He said the bullets went through the car's back window.

State police Detective First Lt. Sean Furlong declined to comment on Washington's account of the incident. He said Tuesday without elaborating that Minier had "displayed a gun."

When he did, one of the two township officers fired two shots, according to witnesses, killing Minier.

Furlong could not say how long the investigation will last. Once completed, it will be forwarded to Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III who will decide whether to file charges.

Because of the recent focus nationwide on officer-involved shootings, officials have emphasized that Minier is not African-American. Minier is listed as Hispanic in Michigan Department of Corrections records. His father is white and his mother is Hispanic, family members said.

His parents never married, and he split time between their households growing up. He didn't finish high school.

He also, at times, lived with his grandparents in Chippewa Lake and was close with both, said his stepmother, Pam Minier.

She recalled sitting on a couch with Randy at his grandfather's funeral in April — the last time she saw him.

"He held my hand," she said. "Randy was really compassionate, as far as I'm concerned. He was really loving."

Randy Minier's Facebook page features numerous photos of his son, who is now 2. Minier also has a daughter, according to his grandmother.

June Minier recalled Randy's visits to her home.

"He loved being out on the lake, on the pontoon," she said. "When he came up here, he mowed my lawn. He always did something for me."

What's next

There is no timetable for a state police investigation into the fatal shooting Monday of Randy Minier by a Lansing Township police officer. Once completed, it will be forwarded to Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III who will decide whether to file charges.