My name is Greg, and I am a neighbor of Lois Laroe, who I am raising money for.
For five years, 65-year-old Lois Laroe lived as a "prisoner in her own home" in Ionia Township, enduring constant gunfire, explosions, and fear while officials at every level looked the other way or worse. Now that Casey Wagner has been arrested and the neighborhood is finally quiet, Lois needs our community’s help to repair her damaged home, treat her hearing loss and PTSD, and reclaim her peace. If you’re in Ionia County or care about government accountability, please read her full story and donate or share today.
For nearly twenty years, Lois Laroe lived a life of quiet peace in Ionia Township. After her mother passed away, the house became her sanctuary, a place of memory and stability. But in 2021, that sanctuary was transformed into a “detonation zone.” For the next five years, Lois wasn’t just living next to a neighbor; she was living on the front lines of a calculated, state-funded terror campaign.
When Casey Wagner moved in next door, the peace of eighteen years vanished. It began with the bone-shaking thuds of high-caliber gunfire and explosions—often less than 75 yards from Lois’s bedroom—along with loud music blaring across the property. Wagner claimed it was “Tannerite,” a legal exploding target used on his private shooting range, and authorities used that as a shield for their own inaction.
But the truth was far more sinister. Neighbors witnessed improvised explosive devices—trash bags attached to balloons with fuses—drifting over property lines before detonating with enough force to send residents diving to the ground. These weren’t mere explosions; they were IEDs. While the Ionia Township Supervisor could hear the blasts from three miles away, Lois was 75 yards away, suffering through thousands of rounds of gunfire and hundreds of explosions that dislodged her windows and made them inoperable.
The psychological toll was absolute. Living with PTSD, anxiety, and the constant fear of the next unscheduled blast, Lois—who still works a 5:00 AM shift—was frequently forced to flee her own home at night, sleeping in parking lots in her vehicle just to find a moment of silence. She has described herself as a "prisoner in her own home," unable to mow her lawn, enjoy hobbies, or even spend time in her yard without rushing back inside in fear. A doctor’s letter confirms she is clinically and legally deaf (with profound hearing loss) from the repeated blasts; she had no hearing issues before this ordeal.
When Lois reached out for help, she found a deck stacked against her. Local law enforcement repeatedly insisted “there’s nothing we can do,” citing Wagner’s “rights” while ignoring Lois’s right to peace and safety. Even when the township attorney advised that disorderly conduct policies should be enforced, officials remained paralyzed.
The betrayal cut even deeper when State Representative Gina Johnsen became involved. What initially looked like a lifeline turned into a web of double-dealing. After a private meeting with Wagner and his family, Johnsen’s tune changed. She pressured Lois to stay quiet, warned her not to involve the Attorney General, and—most shockingly—repeatedly pressured Lois to sell her home to a “mystery buyer” whose identity she refused to reveal. Instead of protecting a constituent, a state representative was seemingly trying to facilitate the very displacement Wagner’s torture campaign was potentially designed to achieve.
The depth of the conflict of interest reached the highest levels of local government. In December 2023, Lois stood before the Ionia County Board of Commissioners in tears, pleading for help. Chairman David Hodges dismissed her, claiming it was a “township issue” and wondering aloud “why would someone do that.” It was later revealed that Hodges was the grandfather of Wagner’s children. His own daughter, Amanda Hodges, was present at the residence of Wagner during some of the explosive activity. The man Lois turned to for justice was family to the man terrorizing her.
Adding to the layers of connection, Casey Wagner’s father, Richard Wagner, serves as the Eaton County Drain Commissioner.
The answer was hidden in plain sight.
The silence finally broke on February 20, 2026. A massive raid involving the Michigan State Police Bomb Squad revealed the true scale of the danger Lois had lived beside. Wagner, who served as the Arsenal Sergeant at the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility (now on unpaid leave), had been running a literal war zone using state equipment. Officers had to evacuate Lois temporarily so they could safely detonate explosives found on-site.
Authorities recovered:
• 196 firearms, including illegal sawed-off shotguns, semi-automatic rifles convertible to full-auto, and an under-barrel grenade launcher.
• Stolen state property, including riot gear, gas masks, tear gas canisters, pepper spray, a Taser, ammunition clips, cartridges, and thousands of rounds of Department of Corrections ammunition.
• Homemade explosive devices and methamphetamine, which Wagner admitted to using for the entire five-year duration of Lois’s ordeal.
Lois Laroe was tortured by her own tax dollars. Her neighbor used state-issued gear to terrorize her, her state representative tried to sell her land out from under her, and her county commissioner looked her in the eye and pretended not to know who was responsible.
The physical damage to her home exceeds $20,500, but the damage to her life is incalculable. Lois’s story isn’t just about a “bad neighbor”—it is a chilling indictment of a community that chose to protect a man with an arsenal over a 65-year-old woman who only wanted to live in the home she had loved for twenty years.
The real cost was five years of a woman’s life—five years of fear, trembling walls, and official abandonment. Lois was finally validated when the handcuffs clicked on Casey Wagner (who faces charges of methamphetamine possession and felony firearm possession while committing a felony; his probable cause conference has been delayed multiple times as more evidence is reviewed). But the community must now ask: Why did it take five years to hear the screams of a neighbor only 75 yards away? He was arrested for felony, firearm, and drug charges—and still has not been held accountable for the damage and terror he caused Lois or the neighborhood.
This is a clear case of government at every level—township, county, and state—failing an innocent, hardworking woman who just wanted peace in the home she's loved for 20+ years. Now it’s time for the public to step up where the system failed.
Since the February 20 raid, the neighborhood has finally gone quiet. Lois told reporters, “It feels real good,” and she can once again enjoy her home and hobbies. But the $20,500+ in home damage (windows, structural issues, etc.), her permanent hearing loss, PTSD, and years of trauma remain. Every donation will go directly to home repairs, medical and therapy care for her hearing loss and PTSD, legal support, and helping her regain stability.
If you live in Ionia County, Michigan, or anywhere that believes neighbors and communities should protect each other when officials won’t—please donate whatever you can afford ($10, $25, $50, or more) and share this page widely. Post it in local groups, tag friends and family, and help us show Lois that real community still exists when those in power don’t protect her.
Thank you for reading her story and for choosing to stand with Lois.