Michigan Criminal Lawyers Blog

According to news reports, an elderly Troy man shot his neighbor in the face after the neighbor had complained about the man’s three dogs which were allegedly barking. David Keats, the 73-year-old owner of the dogs, was arrested on Friday, August 17 and was released on a $1, 000,000 personal bond.

Keats’ neighbor allegedly yelled at the dogs and kicked the fence around 9:15 p.m. at Keats’ residence on Atlas Street, according to Troy Police, who also say that after shooting the neighbor in the face, Keats continued to fire four more rounds as the neighbor tried to escape to safety. The 52-year-old neighbor was reportedly yelling at the dogs, telling them to shut up. He was admitted to the hospital for his injuries, but is now said to be at home recovering.

Several neighbors reported that Keats is a “sick, miserable person,” a “nuisance who continuously harasses others over petty things.” due back in court on August 27th , Keats was charged with possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony and assault with attempt to murder. New reports indicated that Keats may have returned to court on Tuesday to address the issue of his bond. One news source stated that the judge reversed the magistrate’s decision, and set Keats’ bond at $750,000 but that he remains in jail.

Keats’ attorney said that his client should be free until trial, as he is innocent until proven guilty. Prosecutors counter that Keats is an aggressive individual who is dangerous and an instigator, and that he should be behind bars until his next court appearance.

Individuals who are convicted of assaulting an individual with a gun or firearm but without the intent to murder or inflict great bodily harm are often sentenced to as much as 4 years in prison and fines of up to $2,000. Michigan murder defense attorneys know that when someone is convicted on charges of assault with intent to commit murder, he or she may face many years behind bars, perhaps even life.

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Detroit police are claiming that two Allen Park residents whose bodies were found in a canal off the Detroit River had been shot before being dismembered. 39-year-old Roger Bowling has been charged in the slayings. Bowling had been staying at the home of the victims, Chris Hall and his fiancé Danielle Greenway. Greenway was 32 years old, Hall 42; the couple was last seen July 14th.

According to news reports, a torso was spotted on the morning of July 17th in a canal leading from the Detroit River on the city’s east side. While investigating the original report, the U.S. Coast Guard discovered a second torso in the river; both bodies were beheaded.

Wayne County medical examiner Jeffrey Jentzen testified on at the preliminary examination on Monday August 20th that Danielle Greenway had been shot through the mouth a single time prior to her hands, legs and head being sawed off and dumped in the canal. Reports also indicate that Hall was shot six times, two of those shots to the head.

As Jentzen testified at District Court, he recounted how an angler allegedly noticed a saw and legs submerged close to a seawall not far from the canal along the riverbank. Jentzen said that the victims’ torsos were sawed off at mid-thigh, and the hands severed at the wrists. He believed that the bodies had been dismembered through the use of a mechanical saw due to the uniform, clean cuts.

Bowling was the ex-boyfriend of Greenway. Reportedly a former friend of Bowling, Robert Slick, testified that the accused had said he would cut Greenway up and place her in a cooler before dumping it in the water. Mark L. Brown, defense lawyer for Bowling, stated that there were no eyewitnesses linking the defendant to the killings. Police believe that Hall and Greenway were shot at their Allen Park residence.

Bowling was charged with two counts each of first-degree murder and mutilation of a body. If convicted, Bowling will face life in prison without the possibility of parole, the mandatory penalty in Michigan for first-degree murder. He was also charged with tampering with evidence.

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On Sunday, August 5th, a 911 call was made by a woman on Flint’s north side claiming that someone broke in to the home where she was staying. The woman called from a neighbor’s house, claiming she was cut several times and that two men in the home were killed. While the details remain sketchy, the Michigan State Police Crime Lab and Flint Police are investigating what appears to be a double homicide. Two males were found dead at the scene according to Flint Police Captain T.P. Johnson. The residence is located in the 800 block of West Dayton Street.

Reports claim the two deceased males died from apparent gunshot wounds. The female who called 911 was also in the residence at the time of the attack which took place approximately 5:30 a.m. Johnson said the woman fled to the neighbor’s house to make the call, and had suffered knife wounds to the neck area.

Michigan criminal defense lawyers realize that there have been numerous murders in Flint so far this year, and that many of those have involved multiple murders. In fact, the story above brings the total number of double homicides in the city this year to four. A triple homicide occurred in late July as well.

The year began with a double homicide, when on January 18th firefighters discovered the bodies of a 23-year-old and 25-year-old, both who had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. On April 8th, a man and woman were shot to death at the male victim’s home on Easter Sunday. June 26th brought another double homicide when a young man and woman in their 20’s were shot at the home of Roderick D. Harris, who then turned himself in and confessed to shooting the two victims, stating that he shot in self-defense when the two came to collect a debt.

The one triple homicide which occurred just last month happened on July 18th when two men and an unidentified woman were shot to death at a home on Frazer and Tacken streets. A fourth victim survived her injuries after being beaten and shot.

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