On a late spring evening in Detroit, Michigan, Javar Harrell, a 22-year-old man, was fatally shot. The incident occurred around 11:25 p.m. on May 29, 2020, near the intersection of Congress and Randolph Streets downtown. Harrell was inside a silver Dodge Caliber with two other individuals when a verbal altercation with someone outside the vehicle escalated.
The shooting took place in the vicinity of demonstrations protesting the death of George Floyd, but investigators later confirmed
the event was unrelated to the protests. Detroit police officers in the area heard the gunshots and discovered Harrell wounded at the scene. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The subsequent investigation by the Detroit Police Department led to the identification of two suspects. Omani Bryant, 22, was arrested on June 8, 2020, during a traffic stop. The alleged shooter, 19-year-old Tyjon Casaya-Scott Hites, was apprehended by U.S. Marshals in Monroe, Louisiana, and the arrest was announced on June 19, 2020.
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office brought charges against both men. Hites was charged with first-degree premeditated murder and felony firearm. Bryant faced charges of accessory after the fact and felony firearm. Following his arrest, Bryant's bond was set at $10,000.
