Julias Jones Obituary, Death;- The Michigan State Police are currently investigating two recent police shootings, one of which was fatal, involving officers from Downriver.
These incidents occurred on November 26 and 28, involving the Trenton police and Brownstown police, respectively.
According to a post by the Michigan State Police on the social media platform X, a 37-year-old suspect died following a police-involved shooting that took place around 3 a.m. on November 26 at 3374 Van Horn Road in Trenton.
This incident was initiated in relation to a report of a security guard being shot at a gentlemen’s club in Inkster, as confirmed by Trenton Police Chief Mike Hawkins.
Inkster police did not respond immediately to a request for comments regarding the initial shooting report. However, Trenton police characterized it as a “possible fatal” incident and indicated in a news release that the suspect had fled in a grey 2022 Ford Edge.
Officers were instructed to be vigilant, and the vehicle was located around 3 a.m., according to Trenton police.
Details regarding the interaction between the 37-year-old suspect and Trenton police remain limited.
In a news release, Trenton police stated that “officers made contact with an armed suspect who was ultimately shot and killed.”
Hawkins refrained from specifying whether police are claiming that the 37-year-old fired any shots prior to the incident; Fox 2 Detroit reported that the man’s mother witnessed the shooting and asserted that her son did not have a gun drawn and denied his involvement in the Inkster shooting. A neighbor reported hearing officers instructing the man to show his hands before gunfire was heard, as also reported by Fox 2 Detroit.
Trenton police and state police have not disclosed the identity of the deceased man, but Fox 2 Detroit has identified him as Julias Jones.
The incident has left Mary Kemmerling, 35, of Dundee, in shock; she stated that she has been a friend of Jones since 2017, having met him while she was employed at a gas station.
“Julias is someone’s father, son, brother, and friend,” she remarked. “He was kind, respectful, loyal, and trustworthy. He had a beautiful smile, and he was an old soul, but he was a real soul.”
Kemmerling said she heard about Jones’s death while cooking dinner for her children.
“I’m devastated about hearing that my best friend was killed and shot,” she said. “I believe it was a wrong place, wrong time situation because I know Julias would never shoot someone when he knew firsthand how it felt and what they can do to someone, let alone he was terrified of bullets.”
Kemmerling said she still remembers the time “JuJu,” her nickname for Jones, hugged her on Christmas Eve. It was an especially tough shift, Kemmerling said, as Christmas was her late mother’s favorite holiday.
“I asked him if he wouldn’t mind giving me a hug because that’s all I really needed that day to keep getting through my shift,” she said. “I came out from behind the counter and buried my face in his chest and wrapped my arms around him the best I could because he was a teddy bear. Then I lost all my emotions I was holding back all day. I never felt so safe.”
The second police shooting under investigation took place on the evening of Nov. 28.
Brownstown Township police were called about 7:20 p.m. to a domestic violence incident in the 26000 block of Ingram Drive, near Pennsylvania Road, according to a release from that department.
The reported victim and witnesses told police that the suspect in the case had barricaded themselves in an attached garage, Brownstown police said in the news release.
Officers “encountered” the suspect in the garage and spotted a weapon in his hand, but maintained a safe position while awaiting support and making a plan to get the individual out safely, Brownstown police said.
“Before the plan could be carried out, the suspect advanced toward the officers and assaulted one of them with a hatchet,” Brownstown police stated in the news release. “That officer fired at and struck the suspect, stopping the assault.”
Further details were not immediately available.
The man was taken to a hospital and was in critical condition as of an update from police on Nov. 29.
Michigan State Police First Lt. Mike Shaw said the individual was alive on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
Brownstown Police Chief Jeff Watson, by email, directed all questions to state police.
Both incidents remain under investigation, but Shaw said he would not comment further on them. When the probes are complete, they will be sent to county prosecutors for review.
