Man goes on trial today in 1995 shooting death of Ann Arbor teenager
Deondre Byrd, long suspected in a rival gang shooting that left a 16-year-old girl dead on Ann Arbor's south side in 1995, will go on trial today in that case.
Byrd, 34, is also awaiting trial in federal court in the shooting deaths of an Ypsilanti Township woman, her boyfriend and 14-year-old son in 2001.
Tamara Stewart, 16, of Ann Arbor was attending a barbecue on Ann Arbor's south side in July 1995 when she was killed by a stray bullet during a shoot-out that police say was spurred by a feud between two gangs.
Deondre Byrd
Police have said the feud involved Byrd and William "Chuck" Taylor. Both men were charged, but the cases were dismissed when witnesses refused to testify, saying they were too scared. Taylor was shot to death in an unrelated case at an Ann Arbor hotel in 2002.
Three other men also were charged; two were convicted, and one was acquitted.
The case was revived last year after one of the men who was convicted - 33-year-old Emilio Vasquez - won the right to a new trial on appeal.
Before his second trial got under way, Vasquez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and admitted he fired a handgun in Stewart's direction that night. Vasquez, who was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison, also agreed to testify in any cases that arose from Stewart's death.
Byrd, who faces one count of open murder in Stewart's death, is scheduled for a jury trial this morning in Washtenaw Circuit Court before Judge Archie Brown. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
Comments
VoiceOfTheA2Poor
Wed, Dec 2, 2009 : 12:26 a.m.
So let me try this again.. I originally posted something along the lines of this... Yea, I know @ Prix06, I'm just sick and tired of hearing all these negative views on this shabby website about areas such as Arrowood, Stony Brook, Hikone, North/South Maple and Pinelake-(where I came up) when these outsiders dont do nothing but drive past and MAYBE talk about the latest usually media-overblown incident at some coctail party. The interaction between the rich and poor neighborhoods is little to non-existant and it's discusting! The Low-Income Housing Commission has very little to offer in Ann Arbor...they want us all to seek refuge in Ypsi and stay the heck out of Ann Arbor to the point where these yuppies (like the ones who comment throughout this site) forget we even exist! YES!..bad stuff happen in A2 too! Things tend to get ugly when left negligent... I.E. NEIGHBORHOODS!!
VoiceOfTheA2Poor
Wed, Dec 2, 2009 : 12:05 a.m.
@Amalie Nash...Smh... come on... You did NOT just take my last comment off from here did you? Since when did freedom of speech become so tastelessly regulated?! The people need to here the truth, what did I say that was WRONG?! Tell me I'm not too REAL for Ann Arbor ".com"
VoiceOfTheA2Poor
Tue, Dec 1, 2009 : 10:44 p.m.
(2 Cents on the matter) Its very sad to see people's insight into matters they have little or no solid knowledge of... it's complete racism, so subtle they dont even know they're portraying themselves as so.
Atticus F.
Mon, Nov 30, 2009 : 4:27 p.m.
Anti-Thug, I actually agree with you that Arrowwood suffers from a bad stereo-type. The truth of the matter is that the majority of people that live there ARE good people.
anti-thug
Mon, Nov 30, 2009 : 3:38 p.m.
@Atticus F. other then that i don't believe much has happened in arrow wood look a the ann arbor news arches going back into the 70's there hasn't even been breaking and entering in years,people are going to stereotype that have a large African American populations, no ones walking about the white man who killed 2 people on ann arbor west side, why?
Angry Sasquatch
Mon, Nov 30, 2009 : 3:33 p.m.
My heart goes out to the Stewart family. It must be tough having to relive such a horrible memory that happened so many years ago. I hope this trial provides them closure.
Atticus F.
Mon, Nov 30, 2009 : 3 p.m.
Thanks for the update. I was pretty sure that there had been a murder at Arrowwood in the past. Although I wasn't sure if it occured in Arrowwood, or in Scott's nieghborhood. Which was directly across the street from Arrowwood.
Atticus F.
Mon, Nov 30, 2009 : 2:25 p.m.
Anti-thug, I think there have been murders at Arrowwood in the past. It's my understanding that a guy named Scott Pfieffer was shot in the head and killed at Arrowwood about 6 years ago. And yes The 1995 shooting was at the Stoney Brook sub-division, on the south side, near Stone School and Elsworth.
Vernice
Mon, Nov 30, 2009 : 1:41 p.m.
anti-thug: I could be wrong, but I think blake_138 may have been referring to the Forest Hills Cooperative off of Shadowood Dr. in A2. It's in the same area that the shooting took place in.
anti-thug
Mon, Nov 30, 2009 : 1:32 p.m.
@blake_138 NO! nothing like this has ever happened in the peaceful community of arrow wood hills I've lived there for 40 years, and what do mean bye "changed hands "@tdw stuff like this has happens in ann arbor too.
DianeCantor
Mon, Nov 30, 2009 : 1:12 p.m.
Glad this guy is finally locked up. William "Dollar Bill" Wells has been locked up for 15 years on this charge, ridiculous.
Vernice
Mon, Nov 30, 2009 : 11:12 a.m.
The intersection of Plainview and Hemlock is in the Stonybrook (I think that's the name)subdivision, which is not part of the co-op.
djm12652
Mon, Nov 30, 2009 : 10:07 a.m.
What a piece of work this guy is. If convicted [of murdering 4 people]he'll spend some time in prison, but dime will getcha a dollar he's out after serving the minimum and headed down the same path.
tdw
Mon, Nov 30, 2009 : 9:39 a.m.
odd...I thought things like only happened in Ypsi
Paul Taylor
Mon, Nov 30, 2009 : 7:59 a.m.
What neighborhood on the South side? Any street info, etc.?
AAW
Mon, Nov 30, 2009 : 7:56 a.m.
Wow, it is about time this is coming to trial. I live in the neighboring community and heard all the noise that night. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Stewart family.