GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Almost a year after a young couple were gunned down in the Burton Heights neighborhood, Grand Rapids Police said they have a suspect in custody.
Casey Harmon Jr., 19, is facing two counts of open murder and two counts of felony firearm in connection to the shooting deaths of Anayia Rodriguez and Malik Eubanks that happened on Nov. 7, 2023.
He was arraigned in court Thursday and denied bond.
“I hope these charges bring some closure to the loved ones of Anayia and Malik and will help our city, and this neighborhood in particular, heal from that tragic day,” Chief Eric Winstrom said. “Our GRPD detective team has been working tirelessly for almost a year to bring justice and accountability in these brazen murders. We very much appreciate the assistance and support we’ve received from our community over the course of the investigation. I ask that anyone who may have information connected to Darryl’s murder contact GRPD or Silent Observer so that his loved ones can also have a sense of closure.”
Back on that November day, three people were killed in the Burton Heights neighborhood, and a toddler was found wandering the streets nearby.
A 19-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were found bloodied in the street in two separate areas just blocks from one another.
13 ON YOUR SIDE obtained court documents that said when police arrived at the two scenes they determined the man and woman were both "beyond medical care."
The man's toddler was found wandering alone about a mile away from the crime scene covered in blood. The boy wasn't hurt himself, but detectives believe the boy more than likely witnessed the crime.
Court documents state that police were able to review surveillance cameras from neighbors. Through that footage, police said they determined a black Jeep SUV had been involved in the crime.
The Jeep was also seen on camera dropping off the man's toddler. In the video, police said they saw an individual lifting the child out of the car and leaving the child on the parkway.
Also near the child, they found a "distinct" jacket with several NBA logos that had blood on it.
Shortly after the call came in about the child being found, court documents detail another call that came in. The call came from someone who had found a firearm in the same area as the bodies were found. Police went to get the gun, which was determined to be a match to the murder weapon by the Michigan State Police Crime Laboratory.
According to court documents, police spoke with the two victims' families and found that the Jeep they saw on camera belonged to one of the victims, Malik. They put a BOLO out on the vehicle which was found later in the day in front of a home on Sherman St. SE. It had been abandoned and left running. Police determined the vehicle had been abandoned just 15-20 minutes after the killings.
Court documents also detailed a conversation police had with a resident of a home that the couple had stopped by earlier that day. The resident told police that a man they did not know had stopped by the house earlier that day looking for Malik, asking if he stayed there.
The resident said the man walked up to the front door of the home after a short conversation. At that time, Malik and Anayia pulled up to the home. Police said this all happened about 20-30 minutes before they received 911 calls of their bodies being found.
Footage that police recovered showed who they believed to be Malik talking with the man before he got into the Jeep with them. The resident of the home, who had spoken with the man, identified the bloodied jacket that police found near the toddler as the jacket the man had been wearing.
Police said in court documents that Harmon was developed as a person of interest in the case. They said Harmon and Malik knew each other. After obtaining search warrants for social media accounts, they found posts where Harmon had made derogatory statements about Malik.
Police also found photos of Malik wearing the jacket they had found bloodied and holding the firearm they identified as a match to the murder weapon.
When police asked him about the jacket and the weapon, he denied ever possessing them. However, police said that people who knew Harmon said he had admitted to them that he committed the murders.
On that same day, just hours after Malik and Anayia's bodies were found and just five or six doors down from the original crime scene, a 32-year-old man was shot and killed.
It's not yet clear if the young couple's slaying and the shooting hours later are connected.
Grand Rapids Police said all three died from gun violence, and the medical examiner ruled their deaths homicides.
GRPD said Thursday the death investigation into the third man, Darryl Yarber, continues, and they don't have any additional details to share.
WHO ARE THE VICTIMS
Scene 1
Anayia Rodriguez, 20, was found shot and killed on Melville Street SE near Francis Avenue SE around 11:10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 6.
Malik Eubanks, 19, was found shot and killed on Horton Avenue SE near Melville Street SE around 11:10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 6.
The Kent County Medical Examiner ruled both of their deaths homicides.
Scene 2
Darryl Yarber, 32, was found shot and killed in the 2000 block of Horton Avenue SE.