MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. (WZZM) -- Five people face newly-announced charges in the investigation into a Muskegon Heights shooting.
Muskegon County Prosecutor DJ Hilson announced the charges Thursday, saying progress in the case followed efforts from the agencies on the Major Crime Task Force and help from several community members.
"(It's about) developing a timeline, developing players in that timeline, following up on tips as they came in, but also looking for individuals we had developed as potential witnesses and potential suspects," Hilson said. "And in this case we had individuals that fled the county and were hiding out outside the county."
Jeremy Darnell Morton, 28; Kierelle Montrell Burns, 23; and Josiah Fousse, 22, are all charged with open murder and felony firearm in the death of Darnell Byrd on Sept. 5. Burns and Morton are also charged as second- and fourth-time habitual offenders, respectively.
Also announced Thursday, Morton faces firearm, evidence-tampering, and accessory-after-the-fact charges in an Aug. 30, non-fatal shooting in the 600 block of Hovey St., which also involved Fousse, Burns, and Byrd. Burns and Fousse were charged in that case earlier this month.
Brittany Jon-na Kelsey, 24, is charged with lying to a police officer in the investigation into Byrd's death. Shamarea Zhane Salazar, 21, is charged with being an accessory after the fact in Byrd's death.
Prosecutor Hilson thanked investigators specifically from the Muskegon Heights and Muskegon police departments, the Muskegon County Sheriff's Department, the Michigan State Police, the FBI, the Muskegon Major Crime Initiative, and the Prosecutor's Office.
