Pontiac man arrested in fatal shooting of another man over spitting in sink

CBS News Detroit Digital Brief for Feb. 22, 2024

(CBS DETROIT) - Police arrested a 22-year-old man after he allegedly shot another man who expressed "displeasure" over the suspect spitting in a sink inside a Pontiac apartment.

The suspect, whose name was not released, could face criminal charges as soon as Friday, according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office. A second person, 22, was also arrested.

The sheriff's office says the suspect shot and killed 33-year-old Cornelius James Jones, of Pontiac, on the night of Feb. 21. Police were called to the apartment in the 200 block of Carriage Circle, where they found Jones unconscious on the floor. He was taken to a hospital and later died.

Witnesses told authorities that Jones and the suspect allegedly got into an argument over the suspect spitting in the sink. Authorities say Jones called it "disrespectful" and told the man to leave. That's when he was shot.

The suspect and another person ran from the apartment. The second person was arrested immediately.

The shooter was arrested after a brief chase. Police found the gun believed to be involved in the shooting that was discarded, along with the suspect's boot that he lost during the chase.

"It is unfathomable that a human life would be taken for something so absurdly trivial as a person spitting in a sink," Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a statement. "The individuals involved in this should be held accountable with the most severe penalty. I applaud the great work of our deputies on responding to a chaotic and very dangerous scene and chasing and catching an armed murderer as he fled under the cover of darkness."  

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