Pretrial dates rescheduled for 3 men charged in district court

By Craig Trudell (Last updated: 08/28/09 6:31pm) Pretrials and preliminary hearings for three men charged in connection with local robberies were rescheduled Tuesday in East Lansing's 54-B District Court.

Gregory Deon Cole, 18, Tony Lamar Morgan, 22, and Cyrus Ray Beamon, 17, are charged with five counts of felony armed robbery and one count of criminal enterprise for robberies in East Lansing, Lansing and Delhi Township.

All three men are scheduled to appear for pretrials at 8:30 a.m. July 31 in 54-B District Court under Judge Richard Ball. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 3.

Judge David Jordon said it's not unusual for attorneys to be given extra time to review cases dealing with major felonies.

"With all the police reports, potential witnesses and information needed to see the case, especially when the attorney has not been on a case for long, it is within the court's discretion to reset for a later date," he said.

Peter Samouris, Beamon's attorney, said he was unfamiliar with the case and therefore declined to comment.

Cole's and Morgan's attorneys could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Jordon upheld the decision to deny bond for Cole and Beamon on Tuesday. Morgan was granted a $5,000 cash bond for his cooperation with detectives and lack of involvement in the robberies, East Lansing police Detective Dan Dekorte said.

Cole, Morgan and Beamon were arrested at 2:05 p.m. June 23 by MSU police. Police found several victims' property, including wallets and handguns inside the vehicle, East Lansing police Lt. Kevin Daley said.

The men face up to life in prison for the armed robberies and 20 years in prison for criminal enterprise, if convicted. Beamon faces 30 years for the criminal enterprise charge, if convicted.

Craig Trudell can be reached at trudell6@msu.edu.

Originally Published: 07/05/07 12:00am