In the early hours of a Tuesday in Port Huron, Michigan, the quiet of Vanness Street was broken by the glow of a vehicle fire. Responding authorities were still managing the suspicious blaze when a second, more grim discovery was made just blocks away. There, on January 28, 2025, 35-year-old Vincent Buckles was found, having been shot multiple times.
The Port Huron Police Department immediately launched a homicide investigation, working to unravel the connection between the torched vehicle, believed to be an act of arson, and the violent death of the local man.
The investigation into the death of the man described as a loving father to three daughters quickly gained momentum. The Port Huron Major Crimes Unit, assisted by the Michigan State Police Crime Lab, began processing evidence from both the scene of the fire and the location where Buckles' body was discovered. Their efforts soon pointed to potential suspects, leading to a search that extended beyond the borders of Michigan.
Within weeks, the investigation led to significant breakthroughs. On February 12, 2025, law enforcement located and arrested two individuals in connection with Buckles' murder. The first suspect, a 22-year-old Detroit man named Dazman Robert Drake, was apprehended just outside of Atlanta, Georgia, by the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force. Drake was not only wanted in connection with the Port Huron homicide but was also a person of interest in a separate double homicide case out of Detroit. On the same day, a 36-year-old woman, who had been questioned earlier in the investigation and released, was taken back into custody based on new evidence linking her to the crime. She is being held at the St. Clair County Jail. Drake remains in custody in Georgia, awaiting extradition to Michigan to face charges.
