In the summer of 2020, the life of a young boy named Orran Baugh was tragically cut short in a Warren, Michigan apartment. Orran, a 10-year-old male also known as OJ, was a rising 5th grader looking forward to the new school year. On the afternoon of Wednesday, July 22, 2020, Orran was in an apartment at the Warren Manor Apartments on Dequindre Road with a group of other youths.
His older siblings, 11-year-old Cardell Baugh and 14-year-old Carnajah Mitchell, were among the several juveniles and a 17-year-old who were present in the residence at the time.
The carefree atmosphere of that summer afternoon was shattered around 1:05 p.m. when a single gunshot rang out. Orran was struck once in the chest. There were no adults present in the apartment when the shooting occurred. His siblings and the other young people in the apartment were left to deal with the immediate, horrifying aftermath. Emergency services were called, and Orran was rushed to a children's hospital, but his injury was too severe. He was pronounced dead at 2:22 p.m. The loss was a devastating blow to his family, who were left to mourn the sudden and violent death of a child described as being deeply loved.
The investigation into Orran's death quickly focused on the circumstances within the apartment. Police interviewed the eight other youths who were present, described as being cousins. Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer characterized the apartment as being used like a 'flophouse' by the group of young people. The investigation led to the arrest of a 15-year-old male, a relative of Orran's. In the days following the shooting, the 15-year-old was charged as an adult with second-degree murder. He was arraigned in Warren district court and held at a juvenile detention facility on a $500,000 bond, awaiting a probable cause hearing scheduled for August 11 of that year. Neighbors had reportedly complained about the unattended children at the apartment on previous occasions, and an employee of the apartment complex had attempted to contact the renter with a warning just a day before the fatal shooting.
