Man killed by Trenton police had shot security guard at Inkster gentleman's club hours earlier
Mother of suspect fatally shot by Trenton police claims he was innocent
The suspect's mother says he didn’t shoot anybody in Inkster and he had no gun - but police say the shooting was justified.
(FOX 2) - A deadly police shooting in Wayne County early Wednesday morning started several hours earlier when the individual killed by police was identified as the suspect in a separate shooting at a gentleman's club earlier in the evening.
Julias Jones, 37, was killed when Trenton police shot him at an apartment complex around 2:30 a.m.
State police are now overseeing the case while the family of the deceased is adamant her son did nothing wrong.
The backstory:
Inkster Police issued a BOLO (Be On the Lookout) alert early Wednesday morning after a shooting took place at Bogart's Lounge.
Police say the suspect had been asked to leave the establishment, located at 30100 Michigan Avenue, when he returned and got into an argument with the on-site security officer.
As the security guard was walking away from the suspect's vehicle, the suspect rolled down the passenger-side window. The guard then returned, and the suspect shot him in the abdomen.
Inkster police were called to the scene, provided aid to the victim, before issuing the alert for the suspect's vehicle.
Later in the morning, Trenton police became aware of the suspect's vehicle entering the city and responded.
During the encounter with police, the suspect, who was in his car, produced a firearm. Trenton police officers fired on the vehicle, hitting and killing the suspect.
The shooting happened at the Bristol Hills apartment complex on Van Horn Road near Fort Street.
Several bullet holes could be observed in the suspect vehicle, as well as broken glass on the ground. There were approximately 20 evidence markers on the pavement.
The Trenton police chief defended the actions of his officers, saying they acted appropriately.
"Our officers have to be ready at anytime and I give them a lot of credit they knew they were going into a possibly dangerous situation and they responded accordingly," said Mike Hawkins.
The other side:
FOX 2 spoke to the mother of the victim, who was a resident at the Bristol Hills apartment. She identified her son as Julias Jones.
She said she saw the exchange that led up to the gunfire and is adamant that her son did not have his gun drawn.
"I could see everything right there. I witnessed them shooting him and killing him and I know he didn't have a gun drawn, but I do know they did find a gun in the car," she said. "He didn't have anything to do with any kind of shooting because that's not his style."
She also said her son believed there was a hit out on him, which was connected to an incident several years ago when he was shot several times.
"(They said) 'If you don’t put your hands on the dash, we’re gonna taze you.' And then all of a sudden they taze him and I can hear him screaming and then seconds before they stop tazing him, they all started shooting into the car at him," said Jones' mother.
"I heard multiple gunshots over and over again," said a neighbor.
Jones' mother then claimed a charged interaction with officers.
"I said 'Did you kill him? Is he dead?'" Jones' mom said. "They wouldn’t answer me. They just kept telling me to 'Shut the f**k up and go in the house.' I was like, 'That’s my son.'"
"He was not involved in any shooting. Like I said, I knew my son was carrying a gun, but that was because his life was threatened by somebody who had already shot and tried to kill him in 2020 and his buddies told him that they put another hit on him and they want him dead because he testified against somebody in the court."
New details in deadly police shooting in Metro Detroit
The suspect killed by police Tuesday morning was wanted out of Inkster for a separate shooting that stemmed from an altercation outside a gentleman's club.
Big picture view:
Julias Jones. Photo courtesy of family.
Local perspective:
A neighbor at the residence also heard the gunfire as well as commands from police.
"I heard over and over again ‘let me see your hands. Let me see your hands’ and I guess he wasn't partaking in that," said Gerald Smith. "He said it a few more times and then from there, I heard multiple gunshots over and over again."
What's next:
Michigan State Police have now taken over the investigation, due to an officer-involved shooting now part of the probe.
Four officers from the Trenton police department were involved in the exchange.
The security guard who was shot is currently in critical condition.
The Source: Interviews with police, witnesses, and family were cited for this story.