In the early morning hours of Sunday, September 8, 2019, the quiet of Dryden Township was broken by the sound of multiple gunshots. Responding to calls from concerned residents, police discovered the body of 35-year-old Jason Stefanski, a male resident of Rockford with family connections to the Almont area, in a ditch along Hollow Corners Road. An autopsy later confirmed that Stefanski had died from gunshot wounds.
Another man, Nicholas Palazzolo, 29, of Cadillac, was also found at the scene, having been shot and injured.
The investigation into the suspicious death quickly led authorities to a suspect. Lapeer County Sheriff's deputies located a vehicle with a flat tire on Sutton Road, the driver having apparently left a groove in the road from Hollow Corners Road. Inside the vehicle was Lydell Dukes, a 37-year-old from Ferndale, with a handgun in his lap. Dukes initially refused to comply with officers' commands and fled, leading police on a chase northbound on M-24. The pursuit ended north of Lapeer when Dukes' vehicle, driving on its rims, collided with two sheriff's cruisers, after which he was taken into custody.
Investigators believed the shootings were drug-related based on evidence found in the vehicle. Lydell Dukes was subsequently charged with open murder in connection to the death of Jason Stefanski, as well as assault with intent to murder for the shooting of Nicholas Palazzolo, who was reported to be cooperating with detectives. Additional charges against Dukes included fleeing and eluding, resisting an officer, and multiple weapons charges. In November 2021, Lydell Dukes, then 40, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Jason Stefanski.
