On a late summer night in Niles, Michigan, the life of 36-year-old Farries Deatos Maxwell was cut short by gunfire. In the early moments of Tuesday, August 16, 2022, at approximately 12:15 a.m., police responded to the intersection of North 7th and Ferry Streets, where they discovered Maxwell on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound. He was rushed to a local hospital but ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing as many as three individuals fleeing the scene after the shots were fired.
The investigation into Maxwell's death soon revealed a connection to a string of violent events that plagued the city. Authorities with the Niles Police Department came to believe that his homicide was not an isolated incident but rather the catalyst for a series of retaliatory shootings. This belief was solidified after the shooting death of Raquon Glenn just a few weeks later on September 8, a crime that occurred only a block away from where Maxwell was killed. The violence continued to escalate, with police linking a third shooting that resulted in the deaths of two teenagers, 15-year-old Demi Galvin and 18-year-old Yasmeen Scott, to the ongoing feud. Investigators characterized the string of homicides as being rooted in a family dispute that had turned violent, with some individuals involved believed to be associated with gangs.
In a dramatic turn of events, suspicion for the murder of Raquon Glenn fell upon Farries Maxwell's own son, Farries Deshawn Maxwell Jr. The younger Maxwell, then 18 years old, was arrested and accused of killing Glenn in an act of revenge for his father's death. His girlfriend at the time informed investigators that she had dropped him off near the scene of the crime and that he had confessed to the shooting. After spending a year in jail, the charges against Farries Jr. were dropped due to concerns about the reliability of witnesses. While he was released, the possibility remains that the charges could be refiled if new evidence comes to light. The authorities have continued to appeal to the community for any information that could help bring those responsible for the string of shootings to justice.
