PONTIAC, Mich. – The shooter and an accomplice have been charged in an Oakland County murder that stemmed from someone spitting in a sink, officials said.
Oakland County deputies said the shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21, at an apartment building in the 200 block of Carriage Circle Drive in Pontiac.
Witnesses told police that they heard an argument between Sadarie Deshawn Donalson, 22, and Cornelius James Jones, 33, both of Pontiac. The argument was sparked by Jones calling Donalson “disrespectful” for spitting in a sink, officials said.
Jones told Donalson to leave the apartment, and Donalson shot him, according to Oakland County deputies.
“It is unfathomable that a human life would be taken for something so absurdly trivial as a person spitting in a sink,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “The individuals involved in this should be held accountable with the most severe penalty.”
Donalson and Dewaun Demarco Benion, 22, of Pontiac, ran from the apartment before police arrived, a release states. Deputies said they found multiple people in the apartment, including Jones, who was unconscious on the floor.
Jones was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Police said Donalson and Benion were taken into custody.
“I applaud the great work of our deputies on responding to a chaotic and very dangerous scene and chasing and catching an armed murderer as he fled under the cover of darkness,” Bouchard said.
Donalson was arraigned Sunday on charges of second-degree murder, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, carrying a concealed weapon, and resisting/obstructing/assaulting a police officer.
He is being held without bond at the Oakland County Jail.
Benion, who Oakland County deputies call “an accomplice,” is charged with solicitation -- assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder. He is being held on a $75,000 cash bond.
Donalson and Benion are scheduled to appear for a probable cause conference on March 7 at 50th District Court in Pontiac.
