Attorneys Argue Fatal Shooting of Party Store Owner Was Accidental

Four men accused of murdering a Clinton Township party store owner have been ordered to stand trial on felony murder charges by a 41-B District Court judge, despite defense attorneys’ arguments that prosecutors didn’t prove the four meant to kill him, The Detroit News reports.

The four men – Clinton Rayshawn Grayson, 24, and Darius Diaz-Gaskin, also 24, both of Detroit and Kenneth Hill, 26, and Jomar Robinson, 25, both of Clinton Township – are accused of robbing the Moon Lite Party and killing owner Basim “Basil” Sulaka just as he as preparing to close it.

They will be arraigned in Macomb County Circuit Court on July 21 on charges of felony murder, armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. The homicide charges are punishable by life in prison without parole. The four suspects are currently being held in Macomb County Jail without bond.

Related:

• Suspects in Party Store Murder Tied to Wilson’s Market ‘Takeover’ Robbery

“My client wasn’t armed and he had no intention of being part of a plan, but he’s been charged with felony murder,” said attorney David Cripps, who represents Robinson. “We will pursue motions in that regard at the Circuit Court level.”

Diaz-Gaskin told detectives that he accidentally shot Sulaka when confronted about the robbery. He thought the gun’s safety was on, according to the report.

“The discharge of the gun may have been accidental,” Cripps said. “How my client could be held accountable for someone else’s accidental discharge of a gun to the level of felony murder is what we strongly dispute.”

Detectives testified the four men met before the robbery then drove to the party store, which they chose because the store’s parking lot was vacant and appeared empty.