HOLLY TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A barricaded situation in Holly Township came to an end early Wednesday morning.
The suspects, William Lanham and Michelle Holladay, ran into a stranger’s home after being pursued by police for carjacking a grandmother at gunpoint in Frenchtown Township on Tuesday.
Michigan State Police asked media to broadcast a “Be On The Lookout” of a Honda Pilot SUV with an Alabama vanity plate reading “SOLEN.” A Local 4 viewer saw the report and was driving home when she spotted vehicle.
“When I was driving northbound on I-75 in Troy, I just so happen to glance over and see that Honda Pilot with that Alabama plate,” said the woman, who does not want her identity revealed. “I was passing the car on the left and I locked eyes with the guy ... and pulled back and called 911 immediately.”
She discreetly followed the couple up Interstate 75, giving 911 updates on their location. It lasted about half an hour when Holladay and Lanham pulled off at a rest stop near Holly.
“That’s when two cars from MSP pull up,” she said.
Lanham and Holliday saw the squad cars and ran for the vehicle, taking off across the lawn to hit I-75 going north. They exited at Holly Road with police in pursuit.
They dumped the SUV on East Maple Street and barged into a nearby home, letting the couple inside go.
Police said Lanham fired shots at police. Holladay eventually surrendered but Lanham was found dead inside the home later. An autopsy is pending.
The couple is from Kentucky. It’s unclear why they were in Michigan.