In a brazen daytime shooting on September 11, 2015, 30-year-old Devin Wallace of Novi, Michigan, was murdered outside the popular 'They Say' restaurant in Detroit's Warehouse District. The shocking crime, captured on surveillance video, was not a random act of violence but the culmination of a meticulously planned murder-for-hire plot rooted in a lucrative criminal enterprise. Wallace was deeply entangled in a complex drug and fraud scheme alongside several other individuals, a world that would ultimately lead to his demise.
The scheme involved using the identities of drug customers and other victims to fraudulently obtain cars, apartments, and furniture, which were then leased to drug dealers throughout the city. Wallace played a significant role in this operation, but his conspirators, motivated by greed, decided to have him killed to assume his position within the criminal organization. The plan to eliminate Wallace was set in motion by Deaunta Belcher and Darnell Bailey, who offered money, a car, and other forms of payment to Andre Watson and Stephen Brown to carry out the murder.
For weeks, the hired killers stalked Wallace, trying to pinpoint his location. On that fateful September day, Belcher informed them that Wallace would be at the 'They Say' restaurant. Acting on this tip, Watson and Brown, accompanied by a third man, Billie J. Chambers, drove to the location. As Wallace sat in his white Mercedes, Brown fired two shots in his direction, followed by Watson, who unleashed a barrage of twelve shots at close range. Nine bullets struck Devin Wallace, with six hitting his head, leading to his immediate death at the scene. In an attempt to mislead the authorities, Belcher and Bailey later falsely claimed that Wallace had been killed for cooperating with the Drug Enforcement Administration in a separate investigation.
The thorough investigation that followed unraveled the conspiracy and brought all those involved to justice. Deaunta Belcher and Andre Watson were convicted by a federal jury on charges including murder-for-hire and conspiracy. Watson was sentenced to life in prison plus an additional ten years. Other key figures in the plot had previously pleaded guilty for their roles. Darnell Bailey, Stephen Brown, and Billie J. Chambers all admitted to their involvement in the murder-for-hire. Brown was sentenced to 17 years, and Chambers received a 12-year prison sentence for their parts in the brutal execution of Devin Wallace.
