Man in police custody after nearly 2-day manhunt in Ingham County

Eric Lacy , Kara Berg | Lansing State Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Capt. Greg Harris describes what led to search for man thought to be armed and dangerous Ingham County Capt. Greg Harris discusses situation that led to search for armed and dangerous man in the Mason area.

AURELIUS TWP - The "armed and dangerous" man police had sought since late Sunday has been arrested, police confirmed Tuesday.

Eddie Rockwell Jr., 34, of Onondaga, is in police custody after a manhunt led by multiple police agencies on the 600 block of Edgar Road in the township.

"I'm glad because I just want him alive," said his mother, Denise Rockwell, about 6:30 a.m Tuesday in a phone conversation with a State Journal reporter.

Eddie Rockwell was spotted at about 10 p.m. Monday near the Edgar and Columbia roads intersection. Police confined him to a grain barn in the area and brought in a negotiator to get him out of the barn at about 11:30 p.m. Monday.

He surrendered to police at about 3 a.m. Tuesday. A handgun was recovered at the scene. He was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated for injuries and was released and taken to the Ingham County Jail.

He's in custody on a warrant for dealing and manufacturing marijuana. Charges stemming from the manhunt have not yet been filed, Ingham County Sheriff's Department Capt. Greg Harris said.

Denise Rockwell said her son's fiance sent her a text message at about 3 a.m. confirming that he was in police custody.

"All I know is that everything worked out and that he was taken to the hospital," Denise Rockwell said.

Police have been searching for Eddie Rockwell since Sunday morning, when deputies encountered him near a home in Aurelius Township and saw him with a handgun. Police received calls that he had been "peeking in windows" of homes, Harris said.

He disobeyed deputies' orders to stop, fumbled the black handgun he possessed, picked it up and fled west toward Aurelius Road, Harris said.

Records show Rockwell served prison time for a drug conviction in Ingham County and has several convictions for driving while intoxicated or impaired in Ingham and Jackson counties.

Denise Rockwell told the State Journal Monday her son spent five years in prison for running a meth lab. Since his release, he has suffered post-traumatic stress.

Eddie Rockwell had a warrant for dealing or manufacturing marijuana unrelated to Sunday's incident. Denise Rockwell said her son and his father, Eddie Rockwell Sr., were both charged because of a medical marijuana grow operation in the home they both thought was legal.

Contact Kara Berg at 517-377-1113 or kberg@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @karaberg95. Eric Lacy is a reporter for the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at 517-377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLacy.