Lansing man in murder-suicide had prior felonies

LANSING – The man who shot and killed a 43-year-old Lansing woman before killing himself Tuesday outside McLaren Hospital had a lengthy criminal record and served eight years in prison for armed robbery.

Johnnie Conner Jr., 44, of Lansing, served eight years of a 10-year prison sentence in 1991 for armed robbery and felony firearm in Eaton County. He was sentenced for a cocaine possession charge in 2002 and a home invasion charge in 2009. In both cases, Conner had plea deals that kept him out of prison.

Conner's probation on the home invasion conviction ended in January.

Police said he killed Bessie Saline Rodriguez shortly after 7 a.m. Tuesday and then killed himself in a rear parking lot at McLaren Greater Lansing's orthopedic hospital off South Pennsylvania Avenue.

Police wouldn't say what the relationship was between Rodriguez and Conner, or whether there were prior domestic calls involving either person. Police are calling the shooting a domestic incident, but would not say if a dispute led to the incident.

Conner was released from prison in 1999 and was on parole for two years, according to the state Department of Corrections.

He was sentenced to two years probation in 2002 for possessing cocaine in Ingham County. In 2009, he received a five-year probation sentence for a home invasion in Clinton County.