MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — An open murder charge against the suspect accused of fatally shooting an 18-year-old Dylan Owens of Norton Shores on Dec. 9 will move to Muskegon County's Circuit Court for a possible trial.
Kevin Wilson, 21, was arraigned on the charge one day after the early morning shooting that killed Owens at Pomona Park in Fruitport.
On Monday, Muskegon County District Judge Maria Ladas Hoopes not only moved the charge closer to trial, she revoked bond for Wilson following testimony during a preliminary hearing on the charge.
Prosecutors called four witnesses to the stand to testify, including Owens' girlfriend Cheyenne Edwards and Dominic Colegrove II, both of whom were with Owens at the park when he was shot.
According to police, the violence stemmed from prior conflicts between Wilson and Owens.
Edwards testified that her boyfriend and Wilson arranged by texting to meet at the park to fight. The shooting happened in the area of Park Street and South 3rd Avenue around 2:55 a.m.
"No guns, nothing about a gun, nothing about I'm going to shoot you, nothing about he's going to shoot Dylan," said Colegrove. "None of that was ever in the conversation."
"When people say fight I would think with their hands, not with a gun," said Edwards.
According to testimony from Edwards, when she and Owens arrived Wilson was already parked in a car at the park and in the backseat. She says Owens approached the vehicle but Wilson and another man identified in court as his brother refused to exit their vehicle.
"Kevin Wilson and the other male stayed in the car the whole time," said Edwards.
She went on to testify that Owens kicked in one of the car's taillights.
A portion of the events were recorded on Edwards' cell phone, but not the moment Owens was shot.
Both Edwards and Colegrove remember the gun in Wilson's hand. Both told the judge Owens was shot while Wilson was still in the car, or leaning out the rear passenger side door.
"I seen him out of the car a little bit, he might have had just one foot," said Colegrove.
"(Dylan) didn't even touch him," said Edwards. "It wasn't one shot, it was five shots."
Dylan's mother, Jennifer Owens, says her son and Wilson had problems going back several years. She believes a recent event may have escalated their anger towards each other.
"Kevin Wilson shot up my nephew's truck three months prior to this," said Jennifer. "It was over him going through the neighborhood recklessly and my nephew asked him to stop because there was kids outside."
A Fruitport Township Police officer testified that Kevin Wilson is the one who reported the shooting to 911. According to the officer, Wilson reported that he'd been shot at and returned fire. A detective also testified at the preliminary examination saying all the shell casings recovered from the scene matched the gun recovered from Wilson.
Owens was planning to become a father in early March, when Edwards is expecting to deliver their baby girl.
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