In the quiet moments of the day after Christmas in 2020, a devastating act of violence shattered a Flint, Michigan community. Nine-month-old Romelo Kenneth Jones, Jr., a Black male infant, was killed on December 26, 2020. The home where he was located, in the 600 block of E. Pulaski Avenue, was targeted in a drive-by shooting.
The hail of bullets, reportedly numbering over one hundred, tore through the residence, striking the infant and his grandmother, Belinda Hart.
Both tragically succumbed to their injuries at the scene. The senseless violence left family, friends, and the wider community in a state of shock and mourning, grappling with the loss of a life that had barely begun and that of a beloved matriarch.
In the wake of the shooting, the Flint Police Department launched an intensive investigation to bring those responsible to justice. Their efforts led to the arrest of a 26-year-old man from the nearby community of Mt. Morris. He faced multiple charges in connection with the deaths of Romelo and his grandmother. Additionally, a 28-year-old woman, identified as Michelle Harvey, was also taken into custody and arraigned as an accessory in the case. The arrests brought a measure of hope for justice to a community grieving the profound loss of two of its members.
