DETROIT – Two brothers went on a shooting spree in Detroit as payback after someone embarrassed them on social media, federal officials said.
The home on Alger Street in Detroit was hit in late 2015.
“I remember that day,” a neighbor said. “I remember being in the house. Me and my son -- we were home alone. We just heard a loud shooting.”
The neighbor doesn’t want to be identified and is too afraid to show her face.
“We hit the floor because we were scared,” she said. “I didn’t know if they were shooting at my house.”
What happened on Alger Street was just one of many criminal activities that the Woods brothers -- Antoine and Austin Woods.
The brothers were sentenced last month for their crime spree, and the Local 4 Defenders are learning the exact details of what happened.
According to the sentencing memorandum, the brothers “conspired to murder a rival who had embarrassed them on social media.”
Court records show the brothers were gang members on the west side of Detroit. They were involved in drug dealing and intimidation, according to authorities.
Antoine and Austin Woods were known to post on social media to enlist others to engage in violence. But their reputations suffered a blow after an altercation at Fairlane Town Center was caught on video. It showed known rival “Baby James” chasing the brothers throughout the mall.
When that video was posted on social media, the Woods brothers were humiliated and, according to court documents, wanted revenge.
Prosecutors said a shootout resulted outside a nearby strip club. There were shootings at two homes, and then, around midnight Dec. 20, a drive-by shooting at Baby James’ grandmother’s home, according to authorities.
Three people were inside the home, including a young child, police said. Nobody was shot.
“After the smoke cleared and we got up off the floor, I came out and I didn’t see anybody,” the neighbor said. “Then, later, police pulled up and they were everywhere.”
After a five-week trial, a jury convicted the Woods brothers of various racketeering and firearms offenses in connection with the murder conspiracy and two shootings perpetrated as part of it.
“Well, you shouldn’t go around shooting up people’s houses,” the neighbor said.
The conviction provides some peace and justice for the people who live on Alger Street.
“You’re going to reap what you sow when you’re out here doing wrong,” the neighbor said.
Austin Woods was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Antoine Woods was sentenced to 32 years in prison.
Family members of the Woods brothers didn’t want to talk on camera, but they said they plan to appeal.