A 34-year-old Detroit man has been charged with multiple felonies, including murder, in Thursday's fatal shooting of a Dearborn hotel clerk, who police say was executed after first being wounded by the gunman.
Reichard Lee Williams-Lewis was arraigned Sunday in 19th District Court in Dearborn on one count of premeditated first-degree murder, one count of assault with intent to murder, two counts of felonious assault, one count of resisting and obstructing a police officer, and five counts of felony firearm. Thursday's incident resulted in the death of a 55-year-old Riverview man and injuries to a 21-year-old female hotel employee.
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On Thursday, traffic in the city's west downtown was stopped as law enforcement officials negotiated with Williams-Lewis, who was barricaded on the hotel's third floor, for seven hours. Responding officers found that Williams-Lewis had fired several rounds at a hotel clerk in the lobby after killing another employee then went up to the third floor, where he remained holed up until he surrendered to authorities at around 8:30 p.m., according to police.
“The evidence in this case is alarming," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement Sunday. "We have long learned that no place is sacred when it comes to gun violence. Not churches, not movie theaters, not grocery stores or hotels. I would like to pose a question to every legislator in this state. When is enough enough? Please let me know."
In court Sunday, more details on the incident and subsequent negotiation period were revealed.
The incident began when Williams-Lewis had a verbal altercation with a member of the hotel’s cleaning staff outside of room 302 on the third floor regarding him being loud and disorderly and disturbing other guests, Dearborn Cpl. Nicholas Damphousse said while speaking at the arraignment. Hotel management then got involved in the dispute, and Williams-Lewis allegedly continued to scream profanities at staff, prompting them to inform him that he needed to leave the hotel.
He returned to his room to retrieve a Mills 4 AR pistol and hotel staff barricaded themselves in an adjacent room and called 911, Damphousse said. Williams-Lewis, now armed, stood beside the third-floor elevator when another member of staff came to check on the other employees and was immediately shot once elevator doors opened. The victim was still alive after the first shot, but Williams-Lewis stood over him and fired two additional rounds to his head, "executing" him, Damphouse told the court.
The officer said Williams-Lewis then went down to the hotel’s first floor, where he aimed his firearm at two hotel employees but didn’t fire. He then approached the front desk clerk and asked, “Where’s my money?” The clerk retreated into the manager’s office and closed the door, Damphousse said, only for Williams-Lewis to fire two rounds into the office door and door jam, causing shrapnel to strike the clerk’s face and eyes.
Dearborn police made contact with the gunman on the third floor and commanded him to put his hands in the air and lie on the ground, which he ignored and instead ducked into room 302.
During the hours-long negotiation, the Dearborn police’s crisis negotiators spoke with Williams-Lewis over the phone. Several times during the negotiations, police said, Williams-Lewis told them he believed he had been robbed of $500 by the hotel due to them trying to evict him. In a statement Friday, the hotel disputed that the confrontation was sparked by a billing dispute, but declined to provide specifics.
The family of the suspect told Dearborn police that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that has not been treated, a city spokesman told the Free Press. He is a veteran, the city confirmed Friday afternoon but could not provide further information on which branch he served and for how many years. At the scene on Thursday, both Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud and Police Chief Issa Shahin joined a chorus calling for increased mental health support nationwide.
“We ask everybody to pray for our police officers (and) first responders,” Hammoud said to reporters Thursday. “Pray for the family of the victim, as well as pray for the family of the assailant," he urged.
"We know that there are broader issues at hand as it pertains to the mental health crisis that's ongoing not only in our region but in our state, in our country, as well as accessibility to firearms. And we're hoping that those in the right positions of power do act on this. It's about time that we had solutions.”
Williams-Lewis was charged with 10 felony counts:
Williams-Lewis is due back in court for a probable cause hearing 8 a.m. Oct. 21 and a preliminary examination at 10 a.m. Oct. 28. 19th District Court Chief Judge Gene Hunt denied bail for Williams-Lewis and remanded him to jail.