ANN ARBOR, MI - A former Eastern Michigan University student has admitted to scrawling racist messages on walls of three campus buildings in a 2016 string of vandalism incidents.

Eddie Curlin, 29, pleaded guilty to three counts of malicious destruction of a building when he appeared on Monday, April 23 at the Washtenaw County Trial Court.

He also pleaded no contest to four counts of identity theft.

His plea agreement calls for a sentence of two to five years behind bars, attorneys said during the court hearing. A charge of using a computer to commit a crime will be dropped. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 21.

Curlin attended EMU from 2014 to early 2016. He was accused of spray painting hate messages on an exterior wall of King Hall in September 2016, on the exterior wall of Ford Hall in October 2016 and in a men's restroom stall in Sherzer Hall in spring 2017.

The graffiti targeted EMU black community.

Curlin is black.

Police believe he was motivated by hopes of acting as an informant in the case, having previous criminal charges against him dropped and being allowed to return as a student to Eastern Michigan University.

Curlin already is serving a one-to five-year sentence on unrelated charges of receiving and concealing stolen property.

The exact connection between the felony identity theft charges and the misdemeanor malicious destruction of property charges has been unclear.

Restitution of about $800 is expected to be recommended in the case, Assistant Washtenaw County Public Defender Timothy Niemann said during the hearing.

EMU Police Chief Robert Heighes previously said that race was not a motivating factor in the vandalism incidents.

"As far as motivation for this, it was totally self-serving," Heighes said. "It was not driven by politics, it was not driven by race. It was an individual item done by one individual for all three of the major graffiti incidents on our campus."

Following the plea Monday, Heighes noted the combined efforts by his officers, the FBI and Michigan State Police in a statement released by the university. Charges came after a 13-month investigation.

"I am pleased to see the outcome of excellent police work," he said. "Our team, with the support of our public safety partners, worked tirelessly to solve this case and I thank everyone who helped us achieve a conviction."