Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Two men are being held without bond after being arraigned in a fatal shooting at the Proud Lake Recreation Area.

19-year-old Dshaun Omar Hatton-Street (left) of Romulus and 19-year-old Stephan Larryl Shaw of Taylor are charged with using a firearm in the commission of a felony in the slaying of 19-year-old Andre Sontay Avant Jr. They were arraigned Tuesday in 52-1 District Court in Novi.

The men were arrested Thursday in Romulus by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Apprehension Team.

Sheriff Michael Bouchard said “From the moment this young man was discovered, our team was committed to uncovering the truth. In just over a week, our team developed the information needed to make these arrests. I am proud of their work and their dedication to ensuring those responsible are brought before the court and held accountable.”

Avant’s body was found early on February 16th in Commerce Township near the Proud Lake boat launch on Wixom Road. His body was discovered by a park visitor.

An autopsy concluded the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death was homicide.

The Sheriff’s Office says the suspects and the victim all knew each other but none had any connection to the area where the crime occurred. None of the men had known criminal histories.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald commented “Once again, a young person has been lost to gun violence. Andre Avant did not deserve to die. We will do everything in our power to hold his killers accountable, but it’s not enough. We have to start striking at the root causes of gun violence, and treat it like the public health crisis it is.”

A probable cause conference is set for March 11th at 9am before Judge David Law.

A third individual was initially also detained with the two suspects in the slaying investigation but has since been released.