Keyon Timmons, a 30-year-old Pontiac resident on parole for second-degree murder, is sitting in the Oakland County Jail while police continue their tireless search for the handgun he allegedly used to shoot a 5-year-old Oxford girl in the face Sept. 9 inside the Lake Villa Manufactured Home Community off Lakeville Road.
Oakland County Sheriff’s investigators believe it’s quite possible the missing handgun is still in the Oxford village/township area and remind everybody that if they spot a gun to immediately call them at (248) 858-4911.
Timmons is being held without bond after being arraigned Sept. 11 in Rochester Hills 52-3 District Court before Judge Julie A. Nicholson. He pleaded not guilty and, during the arraignment, denied even having a gun.
His preliminary examination in district court is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 29.
Timmons is facing a total of eight charges, chief among them being assault with intent to murder. That stems from his alleged shooting of Jordayna Barrett, a first-grader at Leonard Elementary.
Although she experienced some severe injuries and is facing a lengthy recovery (see side-bar story on page 1), Barrett’s family was pleased to report she’s continuing to make excellent progress as far as being able to eat, paint and play outside at Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital.
Timmons had been in a relationship with Barrett’s 21-year-old aunt, Heather Warner, for about a year-and-a-half.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard characterized it as a ‘stormy? relationship.
Timmons was paroled in October 2007 for a second-degree murder he committed in January 1995.
‘He had gotten into an argument with somebody outside of a party store in Pontiac. He produced a weapon (then) shot and killed the guy,? Bouchard said.
Last week’s shooting in Lake Villa MHC took place shortly after a sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to the 300 block of Shummard Branch Road because Timmons allegedly threatened Warner’s mother (who’s also Barrett’s grandmother), a 41-year-old Oxford resident and owner of the manufactured home where Barrett’s shooting took place.
While she was giving details to the deputy for his report, Barrett’s grandmother received a phone call from Warner stating she and Barrett’s mother had been involved in a personal injury vehicle accident a short distance away at Lakeville and Glaspie roads.
Both the deputy and the grandmother left the Shummard Branch residence and headed for the accident scene.
While they were away, the suspect, driving a green Ford Taurus, pulled up to the home, opened the unlocked front door and allegedly fired a handgun inside, striking the girl in the face at close range.
‘Very close range ? probably two feet,? said Bouchard, noting it’s a ‘miracle? that Barrett’s alive.
The victim’s uncle, who was watching Barrett and four other children at the home, identified the suspect for police.
The uncle threw a wrench at the suspect’s Taurus as it was allegedly leaving the scene, breaking one of the windows.
None of the other children in the home were injured during the shooting.
A short time later, another deputy spotted the suspect’s vehicle in the parking lot of the Kmart on M-24 in Orion Township. During his arrest, he denied the shooting.
‘He said he was shopping for children’s clothes, although there were none in the car,? Bouchard noted.
Bouchard said the suspect did not have a gun on him or in his vehicle at the time of his arrest. Investigators have yet to locate the gun used in the shooting.
‘It could be laying on the side of the road. It could be in a dumpster,? Bouchard said.
Investigators released the route they believe Timmons took after allegedly fleeing the mobile home park at approximately 9:10 p.m. Sept. 9. They released the route in the hopes of finding the gun and to warn the public.
Investigators believe he traveled from the Shummard Branch residence north to Laurel Leah, north to Chinkapin Rill, then to Lakeville Road, on which he headed west.
Timmons is presumed to have then headed south on Bay Pointe (into the Oxford Lakes subdivision) and turned west on Thornehill Trail. Investigators believe he then headed south on Oxford Lake Drive and went west on E. Drahner Road out to M-24. It’s presumed he then headed south on M-24 until he reached the Kmart parking lot in Orion where he was arrested.
Investigators are anxious to recover the missing gun because not only is it a danger to the public, ‘it’s important evidence.?
‘If anybody comes across (a gun), we sure would appreciate a phone call,? Bouchard said.
Bouchard’s quite upset by the fact that someone who was originally sentenced to 8-15 years for second-degree murder and two years for a felony firearms charge is already out on the street allegedly committing another violent crime.
Timmons was sentenced in January 1997. The sentences were supposed to run consecutively. In Bouchard’s opinion, the state must bear some responsibility for what happened in Oxford last week.
‘We’ve been talking about this for months now, how the state is increasingly pushing people out of prison (to save money) that we think are a danger, are violent, that we think have a history of criminality,? he said. ‘This, on face value, looks like it’s one of those cases.?
‘At the end of the day, government’s Number One job is protecting its citizens. If you’re going to dump people into the community to save a buck and end up costing people their lives, (then) obviously there’s a big disconnect with the right way to govern.?
Bouchard noted the state Department of Corrections no longer requires having a job as a condition of parole.
‘What do they think they’re going to end up doing?? he said. ing assault with intent to murder. That stems from his alleged shooting of Jordayna Barrett, a first-grader at Leonard Elementary.
Although she experienced some severe injuries and is facing a lengthy recovery (see side-bar story on page 1), Barrett’s family was pleased to report she’s continuing to make excellent progress as far as being able to eat, paint and play outside at Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital.
Timmons had been a relationship with Barrett’s 21-year-old aunt, Heather Warner, for about a year-and-a-half. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard characterized it as a ‘stormy? relationship.
He was paroled in October 1997 for a second-degree murder he committed in 1995.
‘He had gotten into an argument with somebody outside of a party store in Pontiac. He produced a weapon (then) shot and killed the guy,? Bouchard said.
Last week’s shooting in Lake Villa MHC took place shortly after a sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to the 300 block of Shummard Branch Road because Timmons allegedly threatened Warner’s mother (who’s also Barrett’s grandmother), a 41-year-old Oxford resident and owner of the manufactured home where Barrett’s shooting took place.
While she was giving details to the deputy for his report, Barrett’s grandmother received a phone call from Warner stating she and Barrett’s mother had been involved in a personal injury vehicle accident a short distance away at Lakeville and Glaspie roads.
Both the deputy and mother left the Shummard Branch residence and headed for the accident scene.
While they were away, the suspect, driving a green Ford Taurus, pulled up to the home, opened the unlocked front door and allegedly fired a handgun inside, striking the girl in the face at close range.
‘Very close range ? probably two feet,? Bouchard noted.
The victim’s uncle, who watching Barrett and four other children at the home, identified the suspect for police. The uncle threw a wrench at the suspect’s Taurus as it was leaving the scene, breaking one of the windows.
None of the other children in the home were injured during the shooting.
A short time later, another deputy spotted the suspect’s vehicle in the parking lot of the K-mart on M-24 in Orion Township. During his arrest, he denied the shooting.
‘He said he was shopping for children’s clothes, although there were none in the car,? Bouchard noted.
Bouchard said the suspect did not have a gun on him or in his vehicle at the time of his arrest. Investigators have yet to locate the gun used in the shooting.
‘It could be laying on the side of the road. It could be in a dumpster,? Bouchard said.
The sheriff’s department is releasing the rout
Investigators believe Timmons fled the mobile home park at approximately 9:10 p.m. following his alleged shooting of Barrett. The sheriff’s department released the route they believe he took in the hopes of finding the gun and to warn the public.
Investigators believe he traveled from the Shummard Branch residence north to Laurel Leah, north of Chinkapin Rill, then onto Lakeville Road, on which he headed west.
Timmons is presumed to then turned south on Bay Pointe and turned west on Thornhill Trail. Investigators believe he turned heading south on Oxford Lake Drive, then went west on E. Drahner Road out to M-24. It’s presumed he then headed south on M-24 until he reached the K-mart parking lot in Orion where he was arrested.
Sheriff’s investigators are anxious to recover the missing gun because not only is it a danger to the public, ‘it’s important evidence.?
‘If anybody comes across (a gun), we sure would appreciate a phone call,? Bouchard said.
Bouchard’s quite upset by the fact that someone who was originally sentenced to 8-15 years for second-degree murder and two years for a felony firearm charge is already out on the street allegedly committing another violent crime. The sentences were supposed to run consecutively.
‘With all of that, he was out (of prison) in just over seven years,? the sheriff said. ‘I am absolutely disturbed by it. We’ve been talking about this for months now, how the state is increasingly pushing people out of prison (to save money) that we think are a danger, are violent, that we think have a history of criminality . . . This, on face value, looks like it’s one of those cases.?
Bouchard noted the state Department of Corrections no longer requires having a job as a condition of parole.
‘What do they think they’re going to end up doing?? he said.