In the summer of 2020, a senseless act of violence over a trivial matter claimed the life of Branden Mosley, a 25-year-old man from Detroit, Michigan. On the late evening of July 19th, Branden was at A Eagle's Coney Island on Dexter Avenue in Detroit with his cousins, Carnell Watts, 24, and Cortney Willis, 20. What began as a regular night out turned tragic in an instant.
Inside the restaurant, an argument erupted, reportedly sparked by a comment made about the gym shoes of another
patron, Mickey Dane Douglas, a 25-year-old man with a criminal record who was on parole for robbery. Feeling threatened by the remark, Douglas produced a handgun and opened fire inside the eatery. The sudden burst of violence was captured on surveillance footage, showing Douglas shooting the victims at close range. Carnell Watts, Cortney Willis, and another man, 34-year-old Brian Jackson, were fatally wounded inside the restaurant and pronounced dead at the scene. Branden Mosley was critically injured in the chaos. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he fought for his life for twelve days before succumbing to his injuries on July 31, 2020.
The investigation into the quadruple shooting was swift. Thanks to tips from the public and the surveillance footage, Detroit police quickly identified Mickey Dane Douglas as the gunman. He was apprehended the morning after the shooting. Following his arrest, Douglas was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, one count of assault with intent to murder for the shooting of Branden Mosley, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and multiple counts of felony firearm.
Ultimately, Mickey Dane Douglas pleaded guilty to the charges against him. For the death of Branden Mosley and the others, he was sentenced to a term of 40 to 60 years in prison for second-degree murder and a concurrent sentence of the same length for assault with intent to commit murder. The resolution of the legal case brought a measure of closure to the families of the victims, though the community was left to mourn the tragic and unnecessary loss of four lives over a pair of gym shoes.
