Gunfire detector catches naked Detroit criminal shooting at girlfriend

DETROIT (WJBK) - A career criminal was caught last March after a high tech device picked up gunfire in Detroit. New video released Thursday shows just how it went down.

Detroit ATF agents released video of an incident with Wesley Brown last March, when Brown got into a fight with his girlfriend inside a home on Collingham on the city's east side.

"He was naked -- shooting out the door," said Jon Ortiz of ATF Detroit.

That gunshot was fired just after 11 p.m. that night. Although it did not strike his girlfriend, hidden shot spotter sensors detected the gunfire near the city's 9th precinct.

"Not only are they able to detect it, but they can pinpoint and triangulate exactly where the person was standing when they fired the gun," Ortiz said.

ATF agents, Michigan Department of Corrections, state and Detroit police arrived to the home in 2 minutes - not enough time for Brown to hide evidence or even get dressed.

"We discovered not only the firearm that he utilized for the assault, but about a half of kilo of heroin, a ballistic vest," Ortiz said.

Police also nabbed video from Brown's own surveillance video.

"We didn't have to rely on the credibility of the victim," Ortiz said. "We utilized his own equipment against him."

Cops learned that Brown was not only a felon with a stolen gun from West Virginia, but he'd just been released after serving 17 years for two felony drug convictions.

"He's a dangerous man. Armed, selling drugs in our neighborhoods. I mean that's the worst it can get," Ortiz said.

Ortiz says Brown eventually pleaded guilty to two of five charges, felon in possession and possession with intent to distribute all of that heroin. Since pleading guilty, Ortiz says Brown has been sentenced to 120 months, which is about 10 years.

Ortiz says unfortunately the shot spotters, which would cost the city over $2 million a year, were only a pilot program and are no longer in use. One issue: not enough officers to respond.

But the spotters here long enough to catch Brown, one of Detroit's most disgraceful.