In the early morning hours of a November day in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the life of Roosevelt Thompson, a 54-year-old male, was brought to a violent end. Just before 1:30 a.m. on November 20, 2019, officers with the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety were dispatched to the 700 block of Mable Street, near Cobb Avenue, following a report of a man down in the road. Upon their arrival, they discovered Roosevelt Thompson, who had sustained apparent gunshot wounds.
Despite efforts to revive him, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the shooting quickly developed, leading police to a suspect. Investigators identified Michael Anthony Thigpen, a 31-year-old man from Kalamazoo with ties to Grand Rapids, as the person responsible for Thompson's death. Thigpen was arrested and subsequently arraigned on serious charges, including one count of open murder, two counts of felony firearm, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The motive behind the killing was a chilling and bizarre attempt at manipulation. In the time leading up to the shooting, Thigpen was involved in romantic relationships with two different women. When one of the women discovered the other and ended their relationship, Thigpen concocted a desperate and violent plan to win her back. On November 19, 2019, he borrowed the other woman's vehicle and, while driving, called his former girlfriend to tell her he was going to kill the first person he saw. The ex-girlfriend later recounted hearing gunshots over the phone. Several hours after the shooting, Thigpen met with her, confessed to killing someone, and showed her a gun, asking her to dispose of it, which she refused to do. He then instructed her to watch the news. After seeing a news report that matched Thigpen's story, she contacted the police.
During the investigation, Thigpen confessed to the shooting but claimed it was an act of self-defense. However, the evidence presented during his trial overwhelmingly contradicted his claim. His ex-girlfriend testified about his threat to kill someone and his subsequent confession to her. The other woman he was involved with testified that two guns were missing from her apartment. Following the trial, a jury found Michael Anthony Thigpen guilty of first-degree murder, two counts of carrying a firearm during the commission of a felony, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. His conviction was later affirmed on appeal.
