Wyatt Earp Gean, a 66-year-old Black man from Pontiac, Michigan, was known as a family-oriented veteran and truck driver who loved football and boxing. His life was cut short in the early hours of a Monday morning following a dispute that turned violent.
On May 8, 2023, shortly before 3 a.m., Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of gunfire in the 700 block of Whittemore Street in Pontiac. When they arrived at the residence, they found Mr. Gean with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was rushed to a local hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries during surgery. Authorities learned that the shooting had been preceded by an argument.
The investigation quickly led detectives to a suspect. Within 11 hours of the shooting, police arrested Maurice Eugene Sanders, a 32-year-old Pontiac resident with a lengthy criminal history.
His past convictions, dating back to 2007 in Florida and 2013 in Georgia, included offenses such as vehicle theft, drug possession, fleeing from law enforcement, and being a felon in possession of a weapon.
Sanders was arraigned in 50th District Court in Pontiac and ordered held without bond. In late July 2023, following a preliminary examination, Judge Jeremy Bowie found there was probable cause to advance the case. Sanders was bound over to Oakland County Circuit Court for trial on eight felony counts: murder, felonious assault, discharge of a firearm in or at a building causing death, felon in possession of a firearm, and four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
As of August 2023, the case against Maurice Sanders was proceeding to trial.
