Tribune Chronicle
WARREN - A grand jury handed up indictments against two men on several charges, including aggravated murder, in connection with the Sunday morning shooting death of Marco Dukes Sr.
Dale A. Hatch, 25, of Detroit, is facing charges of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and felonious assault, all with firearm specifications, and tampering with evidence and receiving stolen property. Indictments also identify Hatch as going by the name ''Black.''
Derrick Peete, 22, of Webb Avenue S.W., Warren, is facing charges of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder and felonious assault, all with firearm specifications, improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation, and having weapons while under disability. Indictments also identify him as ''Rizzi.''
The two men are being held at Trumbull County Jail in lieu of $2.5 million bond. They are each scheduled to be arraigned at 2 p.m. Monday by Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge W. Wyatt McKay.
A third man, Reginald Baldwin, also of Detroit, was arrested in the murder but later released from jail. Prosecutors said he will not be charged because they do not have enough evidence to charge him.
Dukes, 32, of Warren, was transported by a helicopter to a Cleveland hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His cousin, Larry Smith, 29, of Warren, was wounded. He was treated at Trumbull Memorial Hospital but left the hospital earlier this week family members said.
Detectives have described the shooting as a ''major gun battle,'' indicating that at least three people involved had high-powered weapons and Dukes may have returned gunfire as he and an unarmed Smith were apparently ambushed behind the home on Elm Court N.E.
Gunfire broke out just before 10:30 a.m. Sunday, according to reports. Officers recovered nearly 50 shell casings in a parking lot in that area.
Prosecutors said that the investigation is ongoing.
Hatch and Peete each have criminal histories in Detroit. Peete also has been convicted of drug-related crimes in Warren.
When he was arrested in connection with Sunday's shooting on Tuesday, Peete had been free on a $6,000 bond on a felony heroin possession charge filed earlier this year. He was scheduled for a preliminary hearing in that case on Nov. 27.
Peete was sentenced by Trumbull County Judge Peter Kontos to one year in prison after he pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated drug trafficking and one count of aggravated drug possession in 2009.
Hatch was sentenced to probation after being convicted in 2005 on two counts of receiving a stolen vehicle, according to online court records from the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan.