Suspect in elderly man's robbery and murder was on crime spree along Telegraph, chief says

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - Southfield Police Chief Elvin Barren said the 26-year-old man who killed a 79-year-old man during a robbery last month was a coward and chose to attack the older man after already encountering a younger man just a few minutes before.

Stavon Lindsay, 26, has been charged with murder, destruction of a building, and destruction of personal property after Southfield Police said he went on a crime spree along Telegraph Road on the night of May 30 – and ultimately killed 79-year-old Maurice Elmore.

Barren detailed the violent night of May 30, 2024, during a press conference Friday afternoon. According to Barren, Lindsay's crime started farther south on Telegraph where he damaged a mailbox of a property and threw it into the road.

A short time later, he tried to steal a bicycle from another man – who fought back. The man eventually got his bike but Lindsay chased him down from behind and attacked him. The owner of the bike eventually left it behind and walked away. 

His next stop was a Tim Horton's where he smashed a window – and then he made his way North on Telegraph – where he ultimately came up on Elmore as the elderly man waited for the walk signal at Telegraph and Franklin.

Video footage showed him walking across the northbound lanes of Telegraph and coming face-to-face with Elmore. The older man then walks away towards the direction that Lindsay had just come from. That's when the suspect chased after him and began his assault.

Stavon Lindsay, 26, is charged with the murder of a 79-year-old in Southfield after a violent attack and robbery.

He hit him from behind and knocked him down. Then he assaulted him by kicking and punching him. Lindsay walked away twice and returned twice to continue to assault him – before ultimately running away with Elmore's phone and wallet. 

A witness called 911 and police arrived – finding Elmore sitting up and able to talk. He was rushed to the hospital but later died from his injuries on June 10.

Barren said Elmore's family was concerned after not hearing from him – and logged into his cell phone account. He said this was crucial to police tracking Lindsay down.

"It minimized time to find evidence," he said.

When police investigated, they learned that Lindsay called someone for a ride – while using Elmore's phone.

Barren also added that Lindsay has a history of mental health conditions but that his attack could have been on anyone – yet he chose the elderly man.

"We talked about mental illness. If you look at the encounter with the individual when he was trying to steal his bike. The coward that he is – he attacked a 79-year-old man repeatedly," Barren said. "This is a coward. You have to think about whether to assault the man who is younger and is going to give you resistance. But you attacked the elderly man."

The family of Elmore spoke as well – with his daughter, Jill, thanking everyone involved for helping find the suspect.

"Thank God for strength to make it through and lead us to signs to where he was at," Jill Elmore said. "God put good people in our way to solve this case"

She described her father as ‘perfect’ – a sentiment that was echoed by his niece, Angela Elmore.

"This man did no harm in his whole life. He did nothing but good all his life and did not deserve this. The only thing he did for joy was being around his family," she said.