Man charged in connection with Detroit hammer assault now facing murder charges
Lance Alan Clowney
DETROIT (FOX 2) - A man already facing charges stemming from a hammer assault in Detroit is now charged with murdering three people who were found dead in the home.
The violent attack happened Feb. 17, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, which issued three counts of first-degree murder charges against 27-year-old Lance Alan Clowney.
Clowney was first charged in February with assault after allegedly attacking a victim with a hammer in Southwest Detroit.
Man charged in assault with hammer 'connected' to brutal Detroit triple homicide, prosecutor says
Lance Clowney II allegedly used a hammer when he attacked an individual in Southwest Detroit. On Monday, he appeared in court on charges including assault with intent to murder and assault with a dangerous weapon.
The backstory:
Officers were called to the city's southwest side about a missing person. While police were in the area of Edsel Street and Francis Avenue, they were approached by a person who said they had been assaulted inside a nearby home.
When the officers went to that home on Edsel, they found Mark Barnett, 65, Norman Hamlin, 66, and Williams Barrett, 72, dead in the basement. Police said it appeared the victims had been brutally assaulted.
During Clowney's arraignment for the assault charges, a prosecutor on the case said it was suspected that he was also connected to the murders.
Late last week, murder charges were issued.
Clowney is accused of attacking the victims with a hammer and knife.
What's next:
Clowney was remanded to the Wayne County Jail.
He is due back in court on April 8.
The Source: Previous reporting and information from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office were used in this story.