On the night of August 17, 2014, Cleveland Gregory, Jr., a 26-year-old Black male from Detroit, Michigan, was navigating the city streets for a scheduled meeting. At approximately 9:51 p.m., he contacted his wife to inform her of his whereabouts and intentions. During this conversation, he explained that an acquaintance had called him while he was en route home, prompting him to divert to the area of Seven Mile Road and Woodward Avenue. The purpose of this late-night rendezvous was reportedly to collect money owed to him by the individual he was meeting.
Concern grew when Gregory failed to return home or answer subsequent phone calls placed by his wife within the hour. Law enforcement officials were eventually alerted to the sound of gunfire in the vicinity of Danbury Street on Detroit's east side around 10:30 p.m. Upon arrival at the scene, officers discovered Gregory's body. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds, with injuries documented to his back, right arm, left chest, and left forearm, indicating a violent end to the transaction he had anticipated.
The ensuing investigation identified Rashond Dion Larkin as the primary suspect in the homicide. Authorities pieced together the timeline using witness testimony and phone records. A witness named Lester Simpson testified that Larkin had contacted him earlier that evening, requesting a ride from the area of Eleven Mile Road and Dequindre. Simpson transported Larkin to the location near Seven Mile Road and John R, placing him in the vicinity of the crime.
Rashond Dion Larkin was subsequently arrested and charged in connection with the death. During the legal proceedings, prosecutors presented evidence linking him to the murder, including the communication regarding the money dispute. Following a trial by jury, Larkin was convicted of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The court sentenced him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the murder charge, along with a consecutive two-year term for the weapons offense.
