Xin Tong, 31, was charged with possessing materials for a meth lab and damaging property
Credit: Ingham County Sheriff Department
NEED TO KNOW
- Xin Tong, 31, was charged with possessing materials for a meth lab and damaging property at Michigan State University
- Police found chemicals, including hydrochloric acid and butane, in Wells Hall, but confirmed no meth lab was present
- Tong, who has not been an MSU student since 2022, is being held on $500,000 bond with a pretrial hearing set for May 8
A man is facing felony charges, including possessing substances to operate a meth lab, after Michigan State University police found him inside the school's largest academic building during an investigation.
Xin Tong, 31, was charged on Wednesday, April 29, with malicious destruction of property and possessing substances to operate a meth lab after officers found him inside Wells Hall, located on the East Lansing, Mich. campus, reports WILX, the Detroit Free Press and WLNS.
Police first responded to the scene after they received a report of alleged trespassing on Sunday, April 26, campus Police Chief Mike Yankowski said, according to the Associated Press.
Officers found the man inside the building that night with multiple bags of liquids, which investigators later learned were hydrochloric acid, methanol, isopropyl alcohol, acetone and butane.
"Most of these items are household items," Yankowski told the AP. "Those products alone might not be dangerous, but if you start mixing chemicals together there is a reaction."
Credit: Google Maps
MSU Police and Public Safety (DPPS) said in a Thursday statement that a meth lab was never located inside Wells Hall.
“Multiple tests performed by the Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) confirm the environment in Wells Hall does not pose a risk to our community,” the department added in a previous statement.
Officials also clarified in Thursday's statement that Tong's felony malicious destruction of building criminal charge is based on allegations that "between April 10 and April 26, the suspect intentionally damaged and/or destroyed property within Wells Hall."
Ingham County Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Nicole Matusko told a judge on Wednesday during an arraignment hearing that Tong is not a current MSU student and hasn't been enrolled since 2022, according to the Lansing State Journal.
Wells Hall was closed and evacuated on Monday morning after a chemical was found in the building, the outlets reported.
Although the building was set to reopen on Tuesday, with final exams set to be held inside, school officials made the decision to "keep the building closed, relocate exams, and provide ample time to allow DPPS to gather evidence, EHS to inspect the building, clean and assess damage to flooring, fixtures and other surfaces, and work with Infrastructure Planning and Facilities (IPF) to remediate and ultimately restore the impacted spaces," per WILX.
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Authorities added that there "continues to be no risk to our campus community and your safety remains our top priority."
Wells Hall will remain closed through Friday, May 1, to allow officials to determine if it is safe to reopen, WLNS reported.
Tong is being held at the Ingham County Jail on a $500,000 bond, per the Lansing State Journal. His next court appearance, a pretrial hearing, is scheduled for May 8.
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