In Detroit, Michigan, on a summer day in 2013, a man named Antonio Hendrix was involved in an argument that would tragically end his life. On June 1st, while standing outside a barbershop, Antonio was on his cell phone when he was approached by three men. An argument broke out, escalating quickly when one of the men knocked the phone from his hand and pushed him to the ground.
Seeking refuge, Antonio ran into the barbershop and barricaded himself in a storage room.
The man who had followed him, later identified as Daron Lee Harrell, was armed with a 9-millimeter firearm. Harrell attempted to kick down the storage room door before firing four shots through it. Two of the bullets struck Antonio, one in the hip and another in the chest. After the shooting, Harrell and the two other men fled the scene. Responding police officers transported Antonio to the hospital, but he succumbed to his wounds and died the following day.
For five years, the case remained unsolved. A break came when Daron Lee Harrell was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. The Ruger P98 handgun he possessed was forensically tested and determined to be the same firearm used to kill Antonio Hendrix. Further investigation revealed more evidence linking Harrell to the crime. DNA collected from underneath Antonio's fingernails during his autopsy was found to be a match to Harrell's DNA. Additionally, a witness identified Harrell as the individual who had followed Antonio into the barbershop on that fatal day.
During his trial, Daron Lee Harrell claimed he was at a family birthday party at the time of the shooting and could not have been the perpetrator. He admitted to selling marijuana to Antonio earlier that day and suggested his DNA may have been transferred during a handshake. However, the jury was not convinced. Based on the physical and circumstantial evidence presented, Daron Lee Harrell was convicted of second-degree murder, felon in possession of a firearm, and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was sentenced to 30 to 45 years in prison for the murder conviction, with additional sentences for the firearm charges.
