A 25-year-old Detroit man has been charged with 14 felonies, including murder, after prosecutors say an argument over a missing cell phone escalated to mass gunfire at an after-hours party on the city's west side, leaving 3 people dead and 4 others injured.
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Christopher Rafael Gouch is accused in the fatal shooting at a home on Prest Street, which authorities say occurred just before 7:30 Sunday morning during what they describe as an illicit after-hours gathering. Gouch was arrested Wednesday and is being held without bond. If convicted as charged, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy described what led to the shooting.
"Seven people shot, three are dead over a fight between women who couldn't control their emotions because allegedly a cell phone went missing," Worthy said.
The dispute began inside the home before spilling outside. Prosecutors say that is when Gouch entered the confrontation, firearm in hand. Wayne County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Elizabeth Dornik outlined the allegations against Gouch.
"The defendant, killed 3 people, or is alleged to have killed 3 people including a security guard, a DJ, and the owner at the facility, and injured 4 people, including partygoers at this location," Dornik said. "And the fact that he discharged a firearm repeatedly, um, there's 16 rounds or casings left at the scene."
Defense attorney Raed Mourad says Gouch, a concealed pistol license holder with no criminal record, fired those shots for good reason.
"He was preventing someone from getting jumped, and when he did that, he got jumped, um, and that eventually other altercations occurred, and again he was helping somebody who was getting assaulted by multiple people who he believes lives may have been in great bodily harm in danger of potentially dying themselves," Mourad said.
The three people killed were identified as 63-year-old Devin Scott, 45-year-old Ansley Harris Jr., and 36-year-old Donovan Gray. Two other men and two women were also injured in the shooting.
Gouch's ties to the women involved in the initial altercation remain unclear.
Kim Harris, whose son was killed in the shooting, described the impact on her family.
"It's not just my son that got killed - my cousin was shot. Her baby's father was killed," Kim said.
Karondi Hernton lost three friends in the shooting.
"I didn't expect that all three of my friends would be the ones this happened to over here," Hernton said.
"This is what this case comes down to: seven people shot, three dead because of a cell phone," Worthy said.
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