In a tragic series of events stemming from a dispute over drugs, Delano Applewhite, a male from Detroit, Michigan, lost his life on October 23, 2012. The incident escalated when Michael Terreal Davis accused Mr. Applewhite and his girlfriend of selling him heroin that had been mixed with an additive.
Following the accusation, Davis forced both Delano Applewhite and his girlfriend into the trunk of his vehicle and drove away. In a desperate bid for freedom, Mr. Applewhite managed to open the trunk and jumped out of the moving car, making a run for it across a vacant field. At the same time, Davis's girlfriend, who had been following in a separate vehicle, began to pursue Applewhite. Davis then stopped his car, got out, and fired multiple shots at Mr. Applewhite, ultimately killing him.
After an investigation into the homicide, Michael Terreal Davis was arrested and charged in connection with the death of Delano Applewhite. Following a jury trial, Davis was convicted of second-degree murder, two counts of unlawful imprisonment, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
For these crimes, Michael Terreal Davis was sentenced as a third habitual offender to a term of 28 to 50 years in prison for the second-degree murder conviction. He also received concurrent sentences of 10 to 15 years for each of the unlawful imprisonment convictions, to be served after completing a two-year sentence for the felony-firearm charge. An appeal led to a temporary reduction of his murder sentence to 25 to 50 years, but the Michigan Court of Appeals later reversed this decision, reinstating the original sentence. The Michigan Supreme Court denied a subsequent application for leave to appeal.
