In the summer of 2022, the life of 17-year-old Edmond Lamont Butler Jr. was cut short by violence in Detroit, Michigan. On the morning of July 26, at approximately 11:06 a.m., Detroit police officers were called to the intersection of South Liebold and Gilroy streets for a reported shooting. When they arrived, they discovered Edmond, a Black/African American male, deceased in the driver's seat of his car.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner’s Office later determined he had died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
An extensive investigation by the Detroit Police Department led authorities to a suspect. On August 31, 2022, police arrested 17-year-old Zyar Brooks in the nearby city of River Rouge. A handgun was confiscated from Brooks at the time of his arrest. According to the prosecutor’s office, Brooks was a friend of Edmond’s.
It is alleged that Brooks got into the back seat of the car behind Edmond, shot him once in the back of the head, and then fled the scene. The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office charged Brooks as an adult with first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder, carrying a concealed weapon, and two counts of felony firearm.
In announcing the charges, Prosecutor Kym Worthy stated, “The WCPO takes any decision to waive juveniles as adults extremely seriously. The alleged actions of the defendant in this case show a significant degree of decisiveness and weighing of his options in the killing of his avowed best friend. Truly tragic any way you look at it.”
After his arraignment in 36th District Court, Brooks was remanded to jail. On January 12, 2023, he was bound over for trial in Wayne County Circuit Court. During the proceeding, Brooks stood mute, and a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf. The case was proceeding through the court system as of January 2023.
