18-Year-Old Man Killed Over Pair of Sunglasses

Zachary Stieber
By Zachary Stieber
May 28, 2019US News
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18-Year-Old Man Killed Over Pair of Sunglasses
The man seen on surveillance footage inside a Detroit gas station shooting 18-year-old Lateo Garrett after trying to steal the teen's sunglasses on May 25, 2019. (Detroit Police Department)

An 18-year-old man was murdered over a pair of sunglasses, his mother said, describing surveillance footage she saw. Police also said the killing was over the sunglasses.

Lateo Garrett was shot on May 25 after traveling to Detroit.

He was wearing a pair of Cartier sunglasses when he went inside a Valero gas station with his brother to grab a drink.

While inside, a stranger approached and tried to grab the sunglasses, police told Fox 2.

The video showed the man shoot Garrett, his mother told the broadcaster.

“He just reached for him, Lateo ducked back and he just shot and ran out, he didn’t even get the glasses,” she said.

The man fled the store and jumped into a vehicle that had three other male occupants. The car sped away as Garrett’s brother tried tending to him and called 911.

“Lateo was like ‘I’m losing it bro,’ and my son was like, ‘I’m here, I’m with you bro I’m just hot,'” the boys’ mother said. “I’m on the phone talking to them the whole time.”

Garrett was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead overnight.

Detroit police officials said that they’re searching for the vehicle the suspect fled in, describing it as a red Chevy Cobalt. No arrests have been made as of yet.

Surveillance Images Released

The police department released surveillance images of the persons of interest in the case on Monday.

Two have their faces completely visible, while the suspected shooter had a hooded gray sweatshirt on, with the hood partially obscuring his face. He was also wearing gray sweat pants and white tennis shoes.

The suspect is believed to be a black man in his early 20s with a slim build, reported WDIV. Police also noted that the sweatshirt had the number “6” on the back of the sweatshirt and red lettering on both the front and back.

The persons of interest were described as follows: one as a black man with long braids and a slim build, wearing a dark T-shirt and blue Adidas pants; the other as a black man with short hair and a slim build, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants.

Police also released a picture of the getaway car.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Detroit Police Department’s Homicide Section at 313-596-2260 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAKUP.

Reactions

On the WDIV website, users expressed outrage at the killing.

“There is just no respect for human life anymore. A pair of sunglasses really? You just paid 25yrs to life for those glasses. When you should have got a job and bought them legally. stop being a problem for society and become part of the solution,” wrote one.

“This criminal is going to get caught and go to jail for life all over a pair of shades. He must have a very high IQ,” said another.

“This is a younger generation they don’t believe in the ‘no stitching’ [sic] they are not from that era. Trust me if they were out to rob for glasses they friends wouldn’t mind making that anonymous tip money. That’s right turn this idiot in. They’ll find him soon, this family needs some type of closure,” added another.

“Brilliant! they parked right in front of the door with a camera pointing at their car, good work will clear the plate,” said another.

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