A 16-year-old Lake Orion High School student was involved in a shootout and subsequent homicide in Pontiac on Oct. 23.
Donald James, of Orion, was arraigned on Oct. 25 by Judge Michael Martinez at the 50th District Court in Pontiac. He is currently lodged in Children’s Village and has been charged as an adult for the crime. He is being held without bond.
‘He and this other kid heard that there were drugs, guns and money in that house,? said Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe. ‘They go up to the door and open it and that’s when the shootout starts. The homeowner, (27-year-old Adrian Contreras,) was killed as a result and James fled the house.?
A total of 24 shots were fired during the shootout. An AR-15, .45 caliber handgun, a 9mm handgun and a shotgun were all used in the shootout.
The .45 pistol and AR-15 were allegedly stolen by the teens from a Baldwin Road home the day before the assault.
James? alleged accomplice, 17-year-old Jonathan Hickerson, of Pontiac, was hit by the shotgun blast fired by Contraras? brother and was found in the front yard when deputies arrived. He will make a full recovery.
Both teens are charged with felony murder, which carries a mandatory life in prison, assault with intent to murder (20-year felony), and three counts of possession of a firearm in commission of a felony (two years per count.)
A Davisburg man and a Grand Blanc man, both 23-years-old, were inside the house when the shootout began and were involved in the incident by firing shots.
Contreras, a 27-year-old Pontiac resident, suffered gunshot wounds to the chest and head. His wife was able to escape the premises with her six-month-old baby.