Detroit liquor store owner shot dead

**TKshreve** · May-01-12, 02:21 PM

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/n...z/-/index.html

How sad. The crooks in Detroit don't even just hold you up anymore. They shoot first, ask for your money after.

50K reward might get someone to roll over, but in the end Detroit loses another business owner and his business to crime while notching another mark in the 187 column.

When will it end?

**poobert** · May-01-12, 02:33 PM

I get so sick of this shit.

So what happens when the Chaldeans don't want to operate businesses in the city anymore because they're getting killed by the local population? The gas station owners are already scared to death. Even with hyper security unknown in the rest of the civilized world they're still getting massacred. Then when they're gone there will be literally NO retail left. They're all that's going on outside of downtown. There's going to be nothing left to steal in this godforsaken city. Then what?

**Zacha341** · May-02-12, 06:23 AM

As a life long Detroiter it is sad to see what has happened to Dexter and other once nice thoroughfares. I rarely drive down it now. It's simply not safe and while liquor stores like this are usually harshly judged for their um seeming 'omni-presence', they have an importance beyond selling booze to the mostly 'captive audience' they serve who often cannot go elsewhere.

From the video and testimonies and comments it's obviously this man was an integral fixture of that area. And while there is this loved/ hate relationship being played out daily on both ends relative to Caldean and Arabic merchants and Detroiters, I'd say these merchants have much to contend with. And if they leave it would be interesting to see who'd replace them?

Who else has financial and social business infrastructure or the 'nerve' to set up shop and attempt to strive as the Arab, Caldean and Korean's do daily....?

If this kind of thing keeps up and they finally give up and get out of Detroit the consumers of their goods will have even fewer options.

Originally Posted by poobert

I get so sick of this shit.

So what happens when the Chaldeans don't want to operate businesses in the city anymore because they're getting killed by the local population? The gas station owners are already scared to death. Even with hyper security unknown in the rest of the civilized world they're still getting massacred. Then when they're gone there will be literally NO retail left. They're all that's going on outside of downtown. There's going to be nothing left to steal in this godforsaken city. Then what?

**Meddle** · May-02-12, 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by Zacha341

As a life long Detroiter it is sad to see what has happened to Dexter and other once nice thoroughfares.

I'm having a hard time remembering when Dexter was a nice thoroughfare. I remember it as one of the worst of the worst many years back.

**313WX** · May-02-12, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by Meddle

I'm having a hard time remembering when Dexter was a nice thoroughfare. I remember it as one of the worst of the worst many years back.

While Dexter near Davison has been going downhill since the 1970s, at least through the early 1990s that thoroughfare, like most in inner-city Detroit, still had some semblance of lower-end retail establishments that lined the street. Since the early 1990s, the decline has accelrated triple fold.

As you can see in the picture, that liquor store was about the only retail establishment left on that part of Dexter.

**Detroitej72** · May-04-12, 10:43 PM

Originally Posted by Meddle

I'm having a hard time remembering when Dexter was a nice thoroughfare. I remember it as one of the worst of the worst many years back.

You are asking for an "old-time" schooling from Jjaba with that comment!

Paging Jjaba, on the Dexter/Davison bus... where art thou?

**Zacha341** · May-06-12, 07:50 AM

It was nicer back in the 70's up thru early 90's. I used to see a chiropractor on Dexter and I can remember an African, jazz dance and martial arts studio in one of the store fronts on Dexter. Several independent shops and stores flanked Davison and Dexter... nearly all gone.

Originally Posted by Meddle

I'm having a hard time remembering when Dexter was a nice thoroughfare. I remember it as one of the worst of the worst many years back.

**SWMAP** · May-01-12, 02:58 PM

You don't have to be running a store to face a gun anymore - you can just be driving along an expressway in or near Detroit:

The guy this morning on his way to work on I-94 at Cadieux who pulled off to dislodge a plastic bag causing his minivan to overheat and was robbed at gunpoint right there:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/B...t/-/index.html

The lady driving on Southfield near Oakwood Hospital yesterday who was bumped, got out and two 14 year olds with guns carjacked her. They crashed in Detroit and got away so more mayhem in store:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/W...j/-/index.html

**poobert** · May-01-12, 03:14 PM

Originally Posted by SWMAP

You don't have to be running a store to face a gun anymore - you can just be driving along an expressway in or near Detroit:

The guy this morning on his way to work on I-94 at Cadieux who pulled off to dislodge a plastic bag causing his minivan to overheat and was robbed at gunpoint right there:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/B...t/-/index.html

The lady driving on Southfield near Oakwood Hospital yesterday who was bumped, got out and two 14 year olds with guns carjacked her. They crashed in Detroit and got away so more mayhem in store:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/W...j/-/index.html

All in what, 48 hours, along with God knows what else?

And here come the rotten vegetables...but shit like this SERIOUSLY tempers any excitement I feel over FiatChryler renting out a couple floors downtown.

**313WX** · May-01-12, 03:17 PM

Originally Posted by poobert

All in what, 48 hours, along with God knows what else?

And here come the rotten vegetables...but shit like this SERIOUSLY tempers any excitement I feel over FiatChryler renting out a couple floors downtown.

Agreed.

If the numbers were adjusted for population shrinkage, Detroit is more dangerous now than it was in the 1970s and 1980s, despite what some people claim.

**AGinthe313** · May-01-12, 03:22 PM

Originally Posted by SWMAP

The lady driving on Southfield near Oakwood Hospital yesterday who was bumped, got out and two 14 year olds with guns carjacked her. They crashed in Detroit and got away so more mayhem in store:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/W...j/-/index.html

Wow – 14 year old kids!! I have a 14-year-old son – and all he cares about is playing football, going to the batting cage, and girls [[in that order).

**Scottathew** · May-02-12, 05:19 AM

Originally Posted by AGinthe313

Wow – 14 year old kids!! I have a 14-year-old son – and all he cares about is playing football, going to the batting cage, and girls [[in that order).

Yeah, it just doesn't make sense. Where are the parents?

**rjk** · May-02-12, 05:48 AM

Originally Posted by 48091

Yeah, it just doesn't make sense. Where are the parents?

There more than likely never was a father in the picture. When I was a young child the worst thing you could hear your mother say when you did something wrong was 'You just wait until your father gets home.'

**bailey** · May-01-12, 03:58 PM

Originally Posted by SWMAP

You don't have to be running a store to face a gun anymore - you can just be driving along an expressway in or near Detroit:

The guy this morning on his way to work on I-94 at Cadieux who pulled off to dislodge a plastic bag causing his minivan to overheat and was robbed at gunpoint right there:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/B...t/-/index.html

Either this guy is a complete moron or there is more to the story. He, according to his own statements, is so terrified of driving through Detroit he buys a gun to have with him at all times when on I94 to protect himself just in case he breaks down. So, what happens? He breaks down and some how gets robbed of both his money AND his gun within seconds of pulling to the side of the road. Really!?! The story [[as reported), sort of strains credulity doesn't it?

One would think the ONE thing the guy who is so terrified of being broken down in Detroit would do is to pull out the gun the second he thinks he's going to need to pull over....at the very least, the moment he puts the car in park.

I'm not "blaming the victim"...I'm calling bullshit. If it's true..we'll, I guess I'm just a cynic.

**Meddle** · May-01-12, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by bailey

He breaks down and some how gets robbed of both his money AND his gun within seconds of pulling to the side of the road. Really!?! The story [[as reported), sort of strains credulity doesn't it?

I'm not "blaming the victim"...I'm calling bullshit. If it's true..we'll, I guess I'm just a cynic.

Something definitely stinks, me thinks.

SteveJ · May-01-12, 03:42 PM

Its just getting worse each day. You keep thinking it can't get worse but it does. I really feel sorry for the people that come in here from different parts of the country and people give them all this positive Detroit talk. I would advise people to live somewhere else. The criminals are running this city.

**SWMAP** · May-01-12, 03:46 PM

And don't start blaming the cops. In my opinion the community-appeasing judges deserve a lot of blame and everyone forgets about their role in the crime mess. Just today a Circuit Court judge handed down a pretty short sentence to a 25 yr old who shot a police officer five times. That used to be, in more lawful times in Detroit, a one-way ticket to life in prison. Now it gets you only 14 years:

After Monday's hearing, Matthews derided Boykin's statement. "The guidelines aren't lenient," he said. "The judge was lenient."

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz1teVlaYd4

And who can forget about Circuit Court Judge Vonda Evans who let out a four time felon for a mere $500 for Easter, which time he used to intimidate a witness in his trial for torturing a guy with red-hot forks over a pair of tennis shoes.

Please remember these people when it comes time to vote!

**313WX** · May-01-12, 03:50 PM

Originally Posted by SWMAP

And don't start blaming the cops. In my opinion the community-appeasing judges deserve a lot of blame and everyone forgets about their role in the crime mess. Just today a Circuit Court judge handed down a pretty short sentence to a 25 yr old who shot a police officer five times. That used to be, in more lawful times in Detroit, a one-way ticket to life in prison. Now it gets you only 14 years:

After Monday's hearing, Matthews derided Boykin's statement. "The guidelines aren't lenient," he said. "The judge was lenient."

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz1teVlaYd4

And who can forget about Circuit Court Judge Vonda Evans who let out a four time felon for a mere $500 for Easter, which time he used to intimidate a witness in his trial for torturing a guy with red-hot forks over a pair of tennis shoes.

Please remember these people when it comes time to vote!

Part of the problem is the prisons are already filled to capacity, or over-capacited, and the judges pretty much know that the criminals will be released anyway after so long, even if they order them to the harshest sentence in the books.

**313WX** · May-01-12, 04:05 PM

Originally Posted by bailey

Either this guy is a complete moron or there is more to the story. He, according to his own statements, is so terrified of driving through Detroit he buys a gun to have with him at all times when on I94 to protect himself just in case he breaks down. So, what happens? He breaks down and some how gets robbed of both his money AND his gun. Really!?! The story, sort of strains credulity doesn't it?

One would think the first thing the guy who is so terrified of being broken down in Detroit would do is pull out the gun the second he put the car in park.

Nothing sounds off about the story to me.

When people say they carry their guns "all the time", they don't literally mean "all the time." Who the hell would think they'd need a gun just to do what he did [[quickly remove a pastic bag from the Engine of his car), especially in a supposedly "nice" part of town? That's completely different from the car not running at all, and needing a tow truck or repair right then and there

**bailey** · May-01-12, 04:14 PM

Originally Posted by 313WX

Nothing sounds off about the story to me.

When people say they carry their guns "all the time", they don't literally mean "all the time." Who the hell would think they'd need a gun just to do what he did [[quickly remove a pastic bag from the Engine of his car), especially in a supposedly "nice" part of town? That's completely different from the car not running at all, and needing a tow truck or repair right then and there

"Who", you ask? THIS GUY. THIS GUY IS THE ONE WHO WOULD THINK IT. Breaking down on I94 was, according to his statement, THE reason he had a gun.

If he felt that strongly about it, so strongly he stated it to the Press, then why is it sitting in the glove box? Oh yeah, "within seconds" of pulling over the highway robbers were on him. much too quickly to get the gun he CARRIED FOR THE SOLE REASON THAT HE WAS AFRAID TO BREAK DOWN IN DETROIT.

again, maybe my BS detector is off, but it's a little too convienent isnt it? I mean the ONE thing he feared.... the stuff of urban legend...being attacked by highway robbers in a "nice" part of town.... within "seconds" of breaking down... happens? I'm going to say we havent heard the whole story.

**313WX** · May-01-12, 04:24 PM

Originally Posted by bailey

Who you ask? THIS GUY. THIS GUY IS THE ONE WHO WOULD THINK IT. Breaking down on I94 was, according to his statement, THE reason he had a gun.

If he felt that strongly about it, so strongly he stated it to the Press, then why is it sitting in the glove box? Oh yeah, "within seconds" of pulling over the highway robbers were on him. much too quickly to get the gun he CARRIED FOR THE SOLE REASON THAT HE WAS AFRAID TO BREAK DOWN IN DETROIT.

again, maybe my BS detector is off, but it's a little too convienent isnt it? I mean the ONE thing he feared.... the stuff of urban legend...being attacked by highway robbers in a "nice" part of town.... happens? I'm going to say we havent heard the whole story.

Far more stranger things have happened.

While he had his back turned to bend over in his hood, anyone nearby could have pulled a gun out and aimed it at him, in that short of a time span. If anything, the guy had too much faith in this surroundings that day, even given his situation that otherwise shouldn't have required a gun at hand.

His intentions were to quickly get out, pull the plastic bag from his engine, and continue on with his commute. That's completely different form being stranded for a significant period of time with no running motor what so ever.

I doubt he went looking for trouble, or that he was asking for trouble to greet him.

**SWMAP** · May-01-12, 04:07 PM

Most men I know in Detroit have CCW's now. Its not because they are all terrified - its pretty common. So this guy may have been just one of them. But they already had their guns on him and they told him that they'd kill him if he moved. I don't know - I've seen that many times on television and pretty much the good guy steps down - on tv its a natural plot device only until later. In this case, he just stepped down. Before it was "for protection." NOW he says he is terrified.

I have a friend who stopped to see an old friend in Detroit a year or so ago-when he got there the business was closed/abandoned. Surprised, he circled around to the alley and there his van fell into a huge hole that seemed engineered. Out of the alley emerged some big guys with guns. My friend did have a CCW but had left his weapon in his shop. He was trying to fend the guys off when a DTE truck, accompanied by DTE's private security, happened to turn down the alley and save his life.

**Meddle** · May-01-12, 05:52 PM

Originally Posted by TKshreve

How sad. The crooks in Detroit don't even just hold you up anymore. They shoot first, ask for your money after.

I think I addressed this here before as the natural next step. With all the stories about homeowners and shopkeepers shooting bad guys, it's only natural that the bad guys will start shooting as soon as they walk in.

As to the guy on the freeway --- do we know for sure the robbery really occurred? Or could he have made the story up to cover the loss of the gun somehow?

**SWMAP** · May-01-12, 06:02 PM

I imagine there were a few witnesses on I94 at Cadieux. Odd that you would rationalize even this episode. If someone making up something like that they would use a more private place in thecstory - an alley or something.

**Meddle** · May-01-12, 06:17 PM

Back to the OP. Was there a history at this store? Previous robberies? Was there a gun behind the counter? If so, could the thief have known about it?