The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Police continue to look for clues in slaying
Investigators having trouble with witnesses
By Austen Smith, Editor
PUBLISHED: October 9, 2008
Investigators continue to seek several witnesses wanted in connection with a Sept. 28 shooting that left a 17-year-old boy dead.
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Kenneth Jackson, of Ypsilanti, was found sitting in the back of a Dodge Neon at the Speedway gas station at the corner of Rawsonville and Grove, suffering from gunshot wounds. He was transported to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital and later pronounced dead.
Van Buren Township Police along with Washtenaw County Sheriff's deputies have been trying to locate three potential witnesses - Brynton Leshaun Warren, 17; Tezmonta Jarmel Evans, 18; and Miesha Danea Stinson, 19 - but have not received a lot of cooperation according to Capt. Greg Laurain.
"We really have nothing new to report," Laurain said. "We are trying to track down the witnesses, but we're not getting a lot of help. Nobody saw anything and all of that, that makes it tough."
Laurain did say they have been getting information from undercover surveillance units within the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department, and they have been using that information to further the investigation.
"From the time (the shooting) happened we have worked in conjunction with Washtenaw County Sheriff Department. They have their confidential informants giving us information. They have been a wealth of information so far," Laurain said.
Police believe that the shooting took place at the nearby Pine Creek Golf Course. Witnesses from near the Pine Creek parking lot said they had seen a verbal and physical altercation take place right before the gunshots. Shell casings from a 9 mm pistol were confiscated and were sent for analysis at the Michigan State Crime Lab.
According to one witness, some of the individuals involved left the golf course parking lot in the Neon and onto Huron River Drive toward Rawsonville Road.
Other accounts from witnesses from Pine Creek and Speedway say there were numerous others that were there at both locations
As far as the next step, Laurain said it's just a matter of time.
"We're going to keep knocking on doors, and hopefully we'll be able to shake some trees and have somebody come forward," he said.
Anyone who witnessed or has information relating to this incident are being urged to contact Van Buren Township Police Department Investigative Division at 699-8922 or 699-8917.
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