(WXYZ) — According to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, a plea hearing and final pretrial conference will be held Monday, December 12 for Sheldon Thomas, the man accused of purchasing the gun that was used to kill Detroit Police Officer Loren Courts in July.
RELATED: Detroit police officer killed in shooting identified as Loren Courts, 5-year veteran of the force
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According to police, Surveillance video shows Thomas and Courts' killer, 19-year-old Ehmani Davis, purchasing a Draco gun from an Eastpointe gun store in May.
The following month, Davis used the same gun to kill 5-year veteran Loren Courts.
According to police, this is not Thomas' first time making a straw firearm purchase for Davis or others.
Texts from police showed that Thomas was contacted by a second prospective client on January 26 of this year for a gun, and a third on May 25.
“That’s unfortunately how the business works,” said former asst. U.S. Attorney Anjali Prasad, who reviewed the feds’ filing for 7 Action News. “You don’t just straw purchase for one person, you get a name you recognize and people say: ‘I need a gun, I’m not allowed to have a gun. Let me go to this guy.’”
A plea hearing is typically scheduled when a plea deal is in the works.
This is an ongoing story and will be updated as more information comes in.
