DTE imposters headed to trial • Body found inside abandoned school • Thieves slam U-Haul into dispensary

WEDNESDAY NEWS HIT - Two men who posed as DTE workers to access a Rochester Hills home and murder a man are headed to trial.

Carlos Hernandez, 37, and Joshua Zuazo, 39, were ordered to stand trial Wednesday in connection with the October murder of Hussein Murray.

Hussein was shot to death, while his wife, Linda Murray, was tied up. She testified against Hernandez and Zuazo. 

She testified the first time she interacted with Hernandez and Zuazo was the night of Oct. 10, when two men knocked on the door talking about a gas leak.

They claimed to be employed by DTE and had already spoken to their neighbors. She told the court she asked her husband if he had his firearm on him.

She knew him to sometimes carry a handgun for personal protection. She also told the court that the individual she identified as Hernandez told her husband he would come back the next day.

Both she and her husband were home when the two men returned. At one point, she testified both men followed her husband into the basement - but did not hear anything after that.

When they emerged from downstairs, the individual she identified as Zuazo had blood on his person. Hernandez then began asking her questions about where she kept her cash and jewelry.

Detective Wendell Smith was among two members of the sheriff's office that traveled to Louisiana to pick up evidence after Hernandez was arrested.

While there, Smith had the opportunity to interview Hernandez, who gave several details to law enforcement. One question he asked Hernandez why only one victim was killed.

Smith paraphrased Hernandez's response as "What do you mean why did we only kill one? It was not supposed to go down like that."

U-Haul used in dispensary attempted smash-and-grab

A marijuana dispensary on Detroit's west side has a big hole in the building after thieves tried to use a U-Haul truck to get into the building early Wednesday.

According to George Brikho, the owner of The Jazz Cannabis Club on Telegraph near McNichols, he received a phone call from the alarm company around 4:45 a.m. about a U-Haul and SUV at the business. He told the alarm company to dispatch police, and while police were on their way, the suspects slammed the truck into the building.

Nothing was taken, but the building is now left with a giant hole in the wall.

Brikho said it's the second time his business has recently been hit by thieves trying to get to his inventory. About a month ago, a group used sledgehammers to try to break into Jazz. He said he believes the four people involved in Wednesday's attempt with the U-Haul are the same people who vandalized the dispensary a month ago.

Child shoots self with unsecured gun

Detroit police say they will be seeking charges after a child shot himself with his father's gun on Tuesday.

The 4-year-old boy's father told police that he was taking a nap in a home on Russell Street with his handgun under the pillow when his son got his hand's on it. 

"He was sleeping on the couch, the father said he had his firearm under his pillow," said Detroit police Deputy Chief Arnold Williams. "Somehow, the child got hold of the firearm and ended up wounding himself in his right hand with the firearm, shooting himself in the right hand."

The boy is expected to survive.

The father was taken into custody, and could be facing felony charges.

Under Michigan's safe storage law, a gun owner could be subject to a misdemeanor charge, which could entail penalties of up to $500 and a maximum of 93 days in jail. However, if the child inflicts harm upon themselves or others using the firearm, the owner can face a felony charge, fines of up to $10,000, and a prison sentence up to 15 years – particularly if the incident results in a fatality.

Body found inside abandoned school

The body of a murder victim was found recently inside an abandoned Detroit school.

Sources say the man may have traveled to Detroit from Genessee County to sell a firearm and that at some point his parents reported him missing. His vehicle was found at La Salle and La Belle. Police K-9s followed a scent from the vehicle to the school in the area of Wildemere near Buena Vista, where the man's body was found.

Shell casings were found at the scene, but no gun was recovered, and police don't know who killed the man.

The murder has people who live in the area shaken up.

"I’m kind of scared because I got four kids that stay in this area, and it’s too close," said neighbor Alive Cooper. "My kids and other kids in the neighborhood were going into the school just being kids and I kept telling them like stay out the school you know?"

Clerk arrested, gas station closed after shooting

A Detroit gas station is no longer open after a clerk shot at a suspected shoplifter earlier this week.

The clerk allegedly accused 38-year-old Tony Williams of shoplifting from the Mobil gas station at McNichols and the Lodge Freeway before chasing him and shooting at him. Williams ran away and jumped onto the Lodge, suffering fatal injuries from the fall.

"It was just crazy. Kind of like all happening that fast the gunshot and everything," a witness told FOX 2. "Right as I was done like, paying, he ran out, so the clerk that was checking me out, he ran out from behind. And, he stopped at the door and was like, ‘I’ll chase you down. You better stop.’ The old man looked back, and then he kept running."

If the gas station is going to reopen, the owner must attend a Department of Appeals virtual hearing on Friday morning.

Live on FOX 2

Daily Forecast

Some snow today won't amount to much, but more is in the forecast.

What else we're watching

1. A 78-year-old woman died Tuesday after police say she ran a red light at 17 Mile and Mound and was hit by a semi.
2. A man who shot and killed an Uber driver nearly three years ago is set to be scheduled Wednesday. Authorities said Carlous Skipper Jr. used a fake name to order the ride and then killed the driver in early 2021.
3. Detroit Lions player David Montgomery is helping children keep warm this winter through a partnership with nonprofit Yunion.
4. Veterans are concerned after a food pantry run by the Ann Arbor VA closed right before the holidays. The VA said the pantry is closed temporarily because the contract with its charitable organization is currently under review.
5. Michigan Democrats are working to pass a package of gun laws during the lame duck session, but they are facing a hurdle - a GOP rep refusing to attend sessions until more money is given to lawmakers' hometowns.

Luigi Mangione faces new murder as act of terrorism charge

Alleged CEO killer Luigi Mangione has been indicted in New York City and faces a slew of charges, including first-degree murder and murder as an act of terrorism, the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg announced Tuesday.

Luigi Mangione already was charged with murder in the Dec. 4 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, but the murder as an act of terrorism charge is new.

Under New York law, such a charge can be brought when an alleged crime is "intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policies of a unit of government by intimidation or coercion and affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder, assassination or kidnapping," the Associated Press reports.

"This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock and attention and intimidation," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at a news conference Tuesday. "It occurred in one of the most bustling parts of our city, threatened the safety of local residents and tourists alike, commuters and businesspeople just starting out on their day."