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Man charged with murder in fatal shooting of brother-in-law in Oak Park

Posted at 7:22 PM, Jun 16, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-18 15:35:23-04

OAK PARK, Mich. (WXYZ) — Oak Park Police arrested 23-year-old Devonte Bailey just after 5 p.m. Sunday.

Bailey was wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of his 29-year-old brother-in-law, which occurred Saturday evening at their shared home on Burton Street near Coolidge Highway.

Bailey was charged with 1st-degree murder, home invasion and two counts of felony firearm. No bond was posted.

Lt. Troy Taylor with Oak Park Police told 7 Action News it appears a family dispute led to the shooting. Bailey took off on foot immediately following the shooting.

The 23-year-old, who is from out-of-state but now resides in Oak Park, was found in an unoccupied home about a block from the shooting scene.

Taylor said an observant neighbor reported banging sounds coming from a home next door overnight, which was under construction due to a recent fire.

Gordon Waterstone was visiting his mother, who lives on Berkley Street. She heard strange sounds coming from the home next door overnight. The home was supposed to be empty.

"She told me what happened, about the banging and I said 'well, I don’t know.' And then we heard about the murder and you don’t even put it together for a while. And then you start thinking about different little things," Gordon told Action News.

He then alerted police, who had been searching for Bailey since Saturday night.

When officers arrived to the home to check it out, they noticed boot marks matching Bailey’s on a door, which he reportedly kicked in.

"A lot of yelling to come out and then next thing I look and they had him on the ground," Waterstone said.

Bailey was taken into custody without incident. A gun, believed to have been used in Saturday’s shooting, was also recovered.

“We tell people all the time, you hear suspicious noises or see suspicious things it could be very helpful to us and in this matter it certainly was," Taylor said.