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Detroit Man Convicted of Dearborn Store Owner Murder

Tanaka Wells will be sentenced on March 13 for the 2011 murder of Jay Shin.

 

A Wayne County jury has convicted a Detroit man in the murder of a Dearborn store owner, the Dearborn Police Department announced Friday.

Twenty-year-old Tanaka Wells was found guilty of first degree murder, as well as three counts of armed robbery and firearm use, in the March 15, 2011, slaying of Jay Shin, as well as the robbery of his Dearborn store, Sunrise Beauty Supply.

Wells is set to be sentenced on March 13 in front of Judge Lawrence Talon. With a history of previous armed robbery convictions, he is expected to receive a life sentence.

A second defendant in the case, 19-year-old Detroit resident Ronnie Lamont Matthews, plead guilty to second degree murder in January. He is expected to be sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison as part of his plea deal with the Wayne County Prosecutor's office.

The March 15 crime took only a few days to lead to an arrest, but was one that set the east Dearborn business community on edge.

According to Dearborn police, a call came in the morning of March 15 that Sunrise Beauty Supply had been robbed, and that someone–later identified as 60-year-old Shin–had been shot.

Matthews and Wells were arrested three days later after surveillance footage led police to the men.

In May, Matthews argued before Judge Richard Wygonik in Dearborn's 19th District Court that he had little to do with the actual crime, and was in the car most of the time that Wells was inside, thus implicating Wells in the bulk of the robbery and murder of Shin.

Wells' attorney, however, argued that no one actually saw Wells shoot Jay Shin.

Dearborn Chief of Police Ronald Haddad lauded the speedy convictions.

“This senseless act united the efforts of the entire community in bringing the responsible parties to justice," Haddad said in a statement. "It is my hope that the convictions bring peace to the family of Mr. Jay Shin."

Related Topics: Crime, Murder, Police Blotter, and dearborn police department

marooned in Dbn

8:03 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012

Thank goodness, justice has been served.

Reply

K of Michigan

11:23 am on Saturday, February 18, 2012

What about the women that was suppose to have been with them? I thought there was 3 of them involved?

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Andre Huff

6:42 am on Saturday, February 25, 2012

The second criminal should have gotten more than 20 years. His a-- should have gotten life also.

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kilo grams

2:06 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013

Free my nigga nock in that rat shoulda got life to

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Cathy Allen

2:40 pm on Friday, February 8, 2013

Over 1/2 the density of my Natural Long "Remy" hair was stolen from my scalp at (cuticle) in 12-24" lenghts throughout my entrire head of hair without my consent to the point of baldness from a salon in MIchigan and I DID NOT go in for a haircut. This man was killed over hair used for $$Extensions$$, I was nearly scalped! Are women of Indian decent with grade "A" Remy hair going to be assauted in the streets and possibly killed for their hair????

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