DRYDEN TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A Detroit man was found guilty of two murder charges and a total of 11 felonies after police discovered the body of a 35-year-old man in the ditch next to a Lapeer County road in 2019, according to authorities.
Police find body of shooting victim
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Police were called at 2:51 a.m. Sept. 8, 2019, to a shooting scene on Hollow Corners Road, east of Thornville Road, in Dryden Township, officials said.
A resident called 911 and told police that a 29-year-old Rockford man showed up at their home after suffering a non-life-threatening gunshot injury, according to authorities.
Lapeer County deputies said they searched the area and found the body of Jason Stefanski, 35, of Rockford, in a ditch next to the rural section of roadway.
Shooting suspect arrested
About an hour later, deputies located a 2014 Buick Encore two miles away from the shooting scene, they said. The SUV was stopped in the roadway, and the driver, Lydell Dukes, 40, of Detroit, was armed with a weapon, police said.
Officials said Dukes led them on a pursuit that came to an end at M-24 and Coulter Road in Mayfield Township.
He was taken into custody and lodged at the Lapeer County Jail, according to authorities.
Charges
Following a joint investigation by Dryden Township police and Lapeer County deputies, Dukes was charged with open murder, assault with intent to commit murder, third-degree fleeing, resisting and obstructing police and “numerous weapons offenses,” according to officials.
The trial began Tuesday (Oct. 5) at 40th Circuit Court in Lapeer County and ended Friday. The jury deliberated for about three hours before reaching a verdict, authorities said.
Dukes was found guilty of 11 felony counts, including first-degree premeditated murder and felony murder.
He’s being held at the Lapeer County Jail without bond and is scheduled to return to court in November for sentencing.
