As 2021 came to a close, the number of homicides reported in Oakland County totaled 35 — an increase of more than 30 percent from the year prior.
An especially tragic component: Of those slain, eight were children. The youngest, a 15-month-old infant, was allegedly killed by his parents. A 3-year-old victim allegedly died at the hands of an assumed trusted caregiver. An 8-year-old girl was allegedly slain by her own brother. And a 15-year-old was fatally shot by her stepfather, authorities said, who then killed himself.
The four other young victims lost their lives when a teenaged accused murderer went on a shooting spree at their high school — thrusting what was once a quiet community into the media spotlight and devastating countless lives in its aftermath.
For most of the county’s homicide cases, charges have been filed against the alleged killer or killers.
Pontiac continues to have the undesirable status of being the community that leads the county with the most reported murders. Oxford Township had the second most homicides in 2021, all from the Nov. 30 mass shooting at Oxford High School. Other Oakland County communities where homicides were reported in 2021 include Troy, Pleasant Ridge, Farmington Hills, Southfield, Madison Heights, Auburn Hills, Royal Oak Township, Commerce Township, Clawson and Oak Park.
In 2020, Oakland County had 26 reported homicides. The year prior, there were 20, and in 2019 there were 29.
The 2021 cases, starting with the most recent:
Name not released
The Troy Police Department declined to publicly release the name of a 23-year-old man who was shot to death at his family’s home on Dec. 27, allegedly by his twin brother. The twin brother also allegedly shot his father before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The twins’ father is reportedly recovering from his injuries.
Aziya Matthews
Aziya Matthews, 3, of Pontiac died Dec. 20, two days after being hospitalized for multiple injuries she suffered, allegedly at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend. Shean Troy Amerson, 23, is charged with felony murder and first degree child abuse for the little girl’s death.
According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responding to a residence in the 1500 block of Grandville Court on a report of an unconscious child found Aziya not conscious and not breathing. She had several broken ribs in different stages of healing, multiple wounds consistent with cigarette burns, two black eyes, severe head trauma and a collapsed lung. Amerson reportedly claimed he was giving a haircut to a client in the kitchen when he discovered the child unconscious. Her mother was at work at the time.
Amerson’s next court date is Jan. 4.
Shedrick Lorenzo Knox
Shedrick Lorenzo Knox, 42, of Pontiac died Dec. 4 after being shot multiple times outside Duckett’s Pub in Pontiac. Charged in his murder is Frank Derron Short, 42, also of Pontiac, who was arrested by the Oakland County’s Sheriff’s Fugitive Apprehension Team on Dec. 5 while at Motor City Casino in Detroit. The two men knew each other, authorities said.
Investigators believe a shootout between the two may have led to Knox’s death.
Short is scheduled for a probable cause conference on Jan. 13.
Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Justin Shilling, Hana St. Juliana
Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myre, 16, Justin Shilling, 17 and Hana St. Juliana, 14 died after being shot at Oxford High School on Nov. 30. Madisyn, Tate and Hana died the day of the shooting while Justin clung to life until the next day. He died Dec. 1.
The four were students at the school, along with the alleged shooter, Ethan Crumbley, 15. Six other students and a teacher were also hit by gunfire during the shooting spree which lasted less than five minutes. Crumbley was arrested at the scene after surrendering to two Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies. He was reportedly armed with a loaded 9mm handgun and walking down a school hallway when approached by the deputies. Crumbley’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, are charged with involuntary manslaughter for the deaths. They’re accused of being irresponsible gun owners and allowing their son access to the gun investigators say was used in the shooting. It’s also believed they purchased the gun for him as an early Christmas present.
The three Crumbleys are scheduled to return to 52-3 District Court on Jan. 7. Ethan Crumbley is scheduled for a probable cause conference in the morning. James and Jennifer Crumbley are scheduled to have a hearing in the afternoon to address a change in bond requested by their attorneys.
Sonya Harry
Sonya Harry, 52, of Southfield, died Nov. 24 after being shot in the head while driving home from a Thanksgiving Eve family dinner. Her son, George Michael Harry, 22, of Troy, is charged with murder and other felonies in connection with the incident, which happened on Woodward Avenue in Pleasant Ridge, near the Royal Oak border.
According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, George Harry was a backseat passenger in his mother’s car when he allegedly shot her with a 9mm handgun. After the vehicle crashed, George Harry reportedly got out of the car and randomly fired the gun several times. A Ferndale woman driving by was shot in the leg.
George Harry is scheduled to return to court Jan. 14 for a probable cause conference.
Maleik Gilmore
Maleik Gilmore, 22, died Nov. 14 after being shot while on Ridgemont Drive near Perry Street in Pontiac, then crashing his car into multiple vehicles in the parking lot.
According to investigators, Gilmore was shot in a drug deal gone wrong.
Charged with homicide and armed robbery in connection with the incident are Eric Burrell, Jr., 16, Torion Wilson, 17 and Demetrious Brox, Jr., 20. Detectives have identified Burrell as the shooter. According to investigators, Gilmore was selling drugs to the teens and was shot as they attempted to rob him.
Burrell’s and Brox’s mother, Jennifer Marie Wilson, 39, is charged with being an accessory after the fact for reportedly trying to help the suspects evade authorities. The sheriff’s office said it’s not believed she is related to Torrion Wilson.
Brox, the last to be arrested, has a court appearance scheduled for Jan. 4. The other three defendants connected to the case are scheduled to return to 50th District Court on Jan. 13. It’s likely Brox will also be scheduled to appear then.
Alneta Cooks
Alneta “Needo” Cooks, 56, died Nov. 9 after being shot while riding in a car in Pontiac. Another woman in the car, Cooks’ 26-year-old daughter, was also hit by the gunfire and survived.
The shooting happened on North Perry Street near Giddings Road on Nov. 8. The driver of the vehicle and another passenger, both Pontiac men in their 50s, weren’t injured in the incident. It’s believed Cooks was not the intended target.
The shooter is still at-large.
Stefon Crow, Kyle Milton
Stefon Crow, 23, and Kyle Milton, 30, were found dead at a house in the 60 block of North Johnson Street in Pontiac on Nov. 4, both fatally shot.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were called to the scene shortly before 10:30 p.m. that night to find a woman screaming, then located the two victims. One was in the front yard and the other was in a living room upstairs, near the rear of the house. Crow and Milton were reportedly friends.
Charged in the homicides is Torris Neal Green, Jr., 27. U.S. marshals arrested Green on Nov. 23 in Garland, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 27, for a probable cause conference.
Blake Louis Sanders
Blake Louis Sanders, 36, died Nov. 3 while in hospice care following a brutal beating in Pontiac that left him with severe brain damage.
Sanders was attacked Aug. 21 outside a gas station in Pontiac on Aug. 21. Rashaan Denee Redmond, 37, of Pontiac, is scheduled for arraignment Jan. 6 in 50th District Court for the slaying. Redmond had been charged with assault with intent to murder prior to Sanders’ death, and the case was bound over to Oakland County Circuit Court. Yet after Sanders died, the case was remanded back to district court for an amended charge. According to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, surveillance video from the gas station shows a man believed to be Redmond offering Sanders $1 to fill his tire, then savagely beating him to unconsciousness. Investigators don’t believe the two men knew each other.
Frederick Lamar Betty
Frederick Lamar Betty, 30, of Pontiac, was shot to death Oct. 31 outside Lions Food Market at 640 Auburn Ave. in Pontiac. A 48-year-old Pontiac man was shot in the foot. Both were reportedly hit by gunfire as they walked out of the store.
Betty suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at an area hospital. The shooting suspect is identified as Troy Dwayne Santos, 29, of Pontiac, who is still at-large. An arrest warrant has been issued, and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is seeking tips on his whereabouts.
Isaias Daniel Porras
Isaias Daniel Porras, 15 months, of Farmington Hills, was found dead Oct. 3 at the Motel 6 in Farmington Hills where he lived with his mother and father. They are charged in his death.
Isaias Aurelio Porras, 31, is charged with felony murder and first-degree child abuse. Amanda Jajou, 30, is charged with second-degree murder, second-degree child abuse and accessory after the fact. Prosecutors say he was beaten severely by his father and died from a brain injury. The mother reportedly witnessed the abuse, did nothing to stop it or help the baby, and tried to cover up the crime. Police found his body under a blanket when they went to the motel on a welfare check, requested by family members.
The couple is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 5.
Charles Williams
Charles Williams, 55, died after being stabbed multiple times on Aug. 20. Sheriff’s deputies, responding to a report of a fight involving three people, found him and another man lying in the 20 block of Newberry Street in Pontiac shortly after 11 p.m. on Aug. 20. Williams was unresponsive and bleeding heavily, the sheriff’s office said. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Tarrant Deland Moore, 29, of Pontiac, was charged with open murder for the death, but that charge was dismissed without prejudice in December. A second man, Jerrimi Deshad Shaw, 33 and also of Pontiac, was charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, a potential 10-year felony. That case was also dismissed without prejudice in December. Charges against either can be filed in the future if evidence warrants it.
Dejuan White
Dejuan White, 40, of Farmington Hills, was shot in the chest from outside a home in the 35000 block of Concord Lane, near 12 Mile and Drake roads, on Aug. 13. While being treated at the scene by police officers, White reportedly identified the person who shot him as Kevin Moore of Detroit, his lifelong friend.
Kevin Curtis Moore, a.k.a. “KC,” was also sought by the Detroit Police Department in connection with the nonfatal shooting of his girlfriend that happened in Detroit about an hour before the Farmington Hills homicide. In early October, Detroit police found a vehicle, unoccupied, believed to be Moore’s. It was then learned that a body that had been in the Wayne County morgue since soon after the shootings was Moore’s. His cause of death was listed as drowning and multiple injuries. He was 43.
Cireara Sutton
Cireara Sutton, 29, was shot to death at Rodeway Inn in Madison Heights on July 19. Jajuan Darvez West, 22, of Detroit is charged with open murder for Sutton’s death.
According to Madison Heights police, West and Sutton had been living together at the motel a few weeks before the slaying. The two reportedly had been arguing about money when West allegedly began firing a Glock handgun. West reportedly told police he got angry and fired a couple shots to scare Sutton. Gunfire hit her five times in the torso, police said.
After the shooting, police found West hiding behind a Dumpster at a nearby gas station. They recovered the unregistered gun believed to have been used in the slaying.
West’s next appearance in Oakland County Circuit Court is scheduled for Jan. 6.
Deloris Arvant
Deloris Arvant, 36, died July 7 after being shot July 6 at an apartment in the 3500 block of Fountain Circle in Auburn Hills. Police and fire department personnel found her unresponsive with a single gunshot wound to her upper body when they responded to a report of a shooting at the apartment. She was transported to an area hospital where she died, police said.
Lavaren Gaddis, 32, is facing charges of homicide-open murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was reportedly Arvant’s boyfriend. His next court date is pending.
Francis Dombrowski
Francis “Frank” Dombrowski, 55 of Rochester Hills, died July 5 after being shot outside a Shell gas station on Rochester Road in Troy.
Terell Josey, 27, of Detroit, is charged with open murder, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony and carrying a concealed weapon in connection with the incident.
According to court files, Josey was a passenger in a vehicle driven by his girlfriend that became involved in a road rage incident with Dombrowski’s vehicle. The two vehicles subsequently left the roadway and pulled into a gas station parking lot where Dombrowski reportedly approached the vehicle Josey was in. His toddler was also in the car. Josey claims he shot Dombrowski in self defense and they left the scene. He reportedly didn’t know Dombrowski was dead until he contacted Troy police to report he was a victim of road rage. Following an interview with police, Josey was arrested.
Dombrowski, a senior lieutenant with the Detroit Fire Department, died after being transported to an area hospital.
Trial is scheduled to begin March 31 in Oakland County Circuit Court.
Christopher Cintron-Mateo, Jonathan Alvarado-Santiago
Christopher Cintron-Mateo, 30, and Jonathan Alvarado-Santiago, 28 were shot to death July 4 in the 500 block of Valencia Drive in Pontiac. Both were Pontiac residents. They were found dead on the lawn outside a home.
Dazon Louis Mathis, 22, was arrested in connection with the shooting, believed to have happened after an altercation between him and the two victims shortly after 1 p.m., according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
Mathis is scheduled for a probable cause conference on Jan. 18 in 50th District Court.
Carrie Jo Haley
Carrie Jo Haley, 44, of Pontiac, died July 2, four days after she was found lying in the 200 block of Voorheis Road in Pontiac, with a head injury. Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies summoned to the scene sought medical help for her, and she was able to provide her name and age but didn’t say what had happened to her, according to the sheriff’s office.
There was no evidence to indicate she had been struck by a vehicle, the sheriff’s office said.
Haley was hospitalized and died a week later. Based on autopsy results, the death was ruled a homicide. An arrest hasn’t been made in the case.
Richard Snead
Richard Snead, 55, died June 8 after being shot, reportedly by his son, Caleb Richard Snead, 23, who is charged with homicide and a firearms offense. The shooting happened in the 17000 block of Cornell Street in Southfield, and the younger Snead reportedly fled the scene. Police located him a short time later and took him into custody.
Snead’s next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 28 in Oakland County Circuit Court.
Brandon Walters
Brandon Walters, 24, was shot to death at the Baymont Inn in Royal Oak Township on June 2. Charged in the slaying is Aurelius Juan Williams, 20, of Canton and Christian Amari Johnson, 20, of Detroit. A woman was injured in the incident.
Williams and Johnson are scheduled for pretrial hearings in Oakland County Circuit Court on Jan. 18.
Tatiana Vuichard
Tatiana “Tanya” Vuichard, 59, was found dead May 17 in the Commerce Township condominium where she had lived with her husband, Vincent Vuichard, 64, who’s accused of killing her.
According to the Oakland County Sheriff Medical Examiner’s Office, Tatiana Vuichard died from slash wounds to the neck.
Sheriff’s deputies had been called to the couple’s home in the 4100 block of Chesapeake Circle for a welfare check after Tatiana Vuichard didn’t show up for her job with Novi Community Schools where she was a long-time employee. Deputies reportedly discovered her body on a bathroom floor, wrapped in plastic bags and a comforter. Vincent Vuichard was arrested at the scene.
Vuichard reportedly has a history of psychological problems. His next appearance in Oakland County Circuit Court is scheduled for Jan. 27.
Franklin Delano Fleming, Jr.
Franklin Delano Fleming, Jr., 62, was found shot to death April 14 inside a home in the 200 block of South Marshall Street in Pontiac. The man suspected of killing him, Michael Jerome Davis, 66, of Pontiac, was convicted of a 1984 murder in Ohio and paroled in 2006.
Davis is charged with open murder, assault with intent to murder and two counts of felony firearms in the Pontiac case, where a woman was also shot. Authorities say Davis fired at her while she was in a bathtub and left her for dead. She subsequently escaped the house where the shootings occurred, crawling onto the roof and flagging down an Oakland County Sheriff’s deputy on patrol. Davis was arrested three days later at a hotel near Toledo.
Davis’ next appearance in Oakland County Circuit Court is scheduled for Jan. 10.
Cailin Heath
Cailin “Kiki” Heath, 15, of Clawson, died March 21, a few hours after she was shot, allegedly by her stepfather. Her stepfather subsequently died by suicide, police said.
The killing happened March 20 during a domestic incident in the 400 block of West 14 Mile Road in Clawson. According to family, Cailin was shot trying to protect her mother and siblings. Her stepfather also reportedly shot a neighbor before barricading himself in his home and then turning the gun on himself. Cailin, a freshman at Clawson High School when she died, was described as a quiet, caring girl. She had two brothers and a sister.
Jerome Samuel Williams
Jerome Samuel Williams, 27, of Southfield, was killed March 15 in what police describe as a domestic assault at the Lancaster Hills Apartments in Southfield. He was stabbed to death. Charged in Williams’ slaying is Erin Danielle Riley, 23, of Southfield.
Riley’s next appearance in Oakland County Circuit Court is scheduled for Jan. 11.
Carlos Contreras
The body of Carlos Contreras, 38, of Flint, was found Feb. 8 outside a Belle Tire store in Troy by employees reporting for work at around 7 a.m. An autopsy showed he died from a stab wound to the chest.
Charged in his murder is Jerome Perry-Bey, 42, of St. Louis, Missouri. Police said the two were acquainted with each other.
Police also said Perry-Bey told them the two had been traveling from Pontiac to Detroit on Feb. 7 when they got in an argument. They pulled over in the Belle Tire parking lot and got out of the car where the argument turned physical. Perry-Bey allegedly admitted to stabbing Contreras, who was unarmed. A bloody knife was recovered from the scene.
Police said Perry-Bey had been staying in Flint, possibly to avoid a warrant for a felony weapons charge he was facing.
Trial in Oakland County Circuit Court is scheduled to start March 29.
Dustin Marion-Ray Little
Dustin Marion-Ray Little of Pontiac died Feb. 2 after reportedly being attacked by a man wielding a machete and steak knife. He was 27.
Charged in the murder is Todd Alan Szyszkowski, 52, of Independence Township. It’s believed Szyszkowski became enraged after coming to a house in the 50 block of Oliver Street in Pontiac to buy prescription drugs but couldn’t get them. Szyszkowski also allegedly assaulted another man at the house, severely injuring him. He faces another charge for that as well as for armed robbery after reportedly stealing medication from a man who reportedly witnessed the slaying.
Szyszkowski’s next appearance in Oakland County Circuit Court is scheduled for a Jan. 31 pretrial.
Christopher Ramsey
Christopher Ramsey, 35, was shot to death Jan. 31 at a house on Nakota Street in Clawson. Charged in his murder is Steven Rogers, 38, described as his long-time friend. Police say the two used hallucinogenic mushrooms prior to the shooting.
Ramsey died from multiple gunshot wounds. Police found him lying facedown on a bedroom floor in Rogers’ house after Rogers was arrested for an assault at a neighbor’s house.
Police said Rogers had exhibited bizarre behavior and spoke of murdering someone prior to being arrested.
Rogers’ next appearance in Oakland County Circuit Court is scheduled for a Feb. 4 pretrial.
Antonio Allen-Marquise Munson
Antonio Allen-Marquise Munson was found dead in his Dodge Durango Jan. 13 in the parking lot of D’Anton’s Coney Island at 411 W. Huron Street in Pontiac. He had been shot.
Charged in his homicide is Bryan Maurice Wilson aka Anthony Randolph Wilson, 31, of Waterford.
Munson’s body was found by his sister and Munson’s friend, who had scoured the area looking for him after they became concerned when he stopped responding to texts.
Investigators tied Wilson to the crime through cell phone records showing he and Munson arranged to meet for a marijuana deal, as well as surveillance video that recorded the meeting in the restaurant’s parking lot, Munson’s blood found in Wilson’s car, and .45-caliber bullets found during a search of Wilson’s home. Munson was killed after being hit by a .45-caliber bullet.
Wilson is scheduled for trial set to begin July 12 in Oakland County Circuit Court.
Richard Brown, III
Richard Brown III, 29, of Oak Park, was shot to death Jan. 11 while sitting in his car in the parking lot of the Village Green Townhomes in Oak Park.
He was in the driver’s seat and had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, police said. Brown was pronounced dead at the scene, in the 24000 block of Rensselaer Street near 10 Mile Road. Police said Brown had lived at Village Green Townhomes.
No arrest has been made in connection with the slaying. Police continue to welcome any information related to the case as an investigation continues.
Bailei Singleton
Bailei Singleton, 8, died Jan. 6, three days after being shot in the head at her home in Southfield’s 12 North Apartments. Her brother, Gyasi Arnez Stribling, 21, is charged in her murder.
A few days after the shooting, Southfield Police Chief Elvin Barren said details of what led up to it were “too disturbing to release to the public at this time.” He also said Stribling was seen “brandishing” a weapon prior to the shooting.
According to Barren, the first police officer on the scene arrived within three minutes of a 911 call and carried Bailei from the apartment to a paramedic unit, which transported her to an area hospital.
Prior to being arrested, Stribling had “tried to cover his tracks” by concocting a story that Bailei was shot during a robbery at the apartment, Barren said. Stribling reportedly hid a handgun that was used in the shooting, later located by investigators.
Stribling is scheduled to appear in Oakland County Circuit Court on Jan. 18 for a pretrial hearing.
Also of note:
Tarrie Daniel, 28, of Southfield, died July 4 after reportedly being struck by a vehicle near George Washington and Martha Washington streets in Southfield. Daniel was in his wheelchair when struck, police said, and the vehicle fled the scene.
The hit-and-run is believed to have happened sometime between 2:30 and 6:45 a.m., and the suspected vehicle is a Jaguar, possibly silver.
Daniel was pronounced dead at the scene. No arrest has been made in this case.
Joseph Marwan Brown, 27, of Taylor, was gunned down in Southfield near 9 Mile and Greenfield roads on Feb. 25. The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office subsequently determined that the shooting was in self-defense, resulting in no one being charged with homicide.
Investigators said early on that it was believed the shooting stemmed from a previous relationship between Brown’s girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend.
An Oak Park man and a Detroit man, both 21, were considered suspects and arrested a short time later about a mile away. They were subsequently charged with carrying a concealed weapon, police said.
