ADRIAN — A murder case against a man accused of taking part in a shooting that killed another man in February 2023 in Adrian will proceed in Lenawee County Circuit Court.
Circuit Judge Michael R. Olsaver on Wednesday denied a motion to quash the bindover from Lenawee County District Court of open murder and firearms charges against Kenyatto Tiwaine Sylvertooth, 48, of Detroit. Sylvertooth and Gage Michael Winsett, 18, of Adrian are each charged in the death of 27-year-old Jonathan Marquise Simmons of Detroit. Simmons was shot in an exchange of gunfire between two vehicles on the afternoon of Feb. 13, 2023, near the intersection of South Tecumseh and Frank streets.
A trial with both defendants is scheduled to begin May 14 before Olsaver. Final pretrial hearings for both are scheduled for Wednesday, April 24. Sylvertooth's attorney, Michael Dagher-Margosian of the Lenawee County Public Defender's Office, has filed a motion to separate the cases. On Wednesday, he deferred resolving that issue until April 24.
District Judge Laura J. Schaedler bound over the cases against Sylvertooth and Winsett in November after conducting a preliminary examination and finding the prosecution had established probable cause that a crime had been committed and the defendants were responsible.
Dagher-Margosian sought to quash the bindover, arguing there was insufficient evidence to support it.
In denying the motion, Olsaver on Tuesday said he reviewed the transcript of testimony given during the preliminary exam, which established a timeline of events on the day of the shooting, and found there was sufficient evidence to bind over the case to circuit court.
"I understand that it is a circumstantial case, but circumstantial evidence is sufficient for purposes of a bindover, and I think that a person of ordinary prudence or caution could conscientiously entertain a reasonable belief as to Kenyatto Sylvertooth's guilt based on that timeline," Olsaver said, "particularly in that within seven, seven and a half minutes of the shooting he is in the area, we know that it is his automobile that the shots are fired from and there's testimony that he did not let other people drive his vehicle."
The timeline of the day of the shooting that Olsaver reviewed started with video evidence showing Simmons' silver van at 3:59 p.m. southbound on Center Street. At 4:06 p.m., Mark Sylvertooth and Samantha Barrett were seen on video walking through the nearby parking lot of the former Restore World Church. Cellphone records indicate that Kenyatto Sylvertooth called Mark Sylvertooth at 4:08 p.m., and at 4:09 p.m. Kenyatto Sylvertooth, Winsett and a third person walked through the same parking lot toward a corner store. At 4:10 p.m., cellphone records indicate that Mark Sylvertooth called Kenyatto Sylvertooth, and at 4:11 p.m. there was video evidence of the Sylvertooths, Winsett, Barrett and the other person were walking from the store to Mark Sylvertooth's home on Church Street.
"That video evidence is consistent with the witness testimony regarding people's movements in the time shortly before this shooting occurred," Olsaver said.
Subscribe Now:For all the latest local developments, breaking news, and high school and college sports content.
Robert Allen, a Frank Street resident, testified that shortly before the shooting he saw a black Jeep with two people in it, Olsaver said. The driver was wearing a mask, and the occupants seemed suspicious because they were looking up and down the street as if they were looking for someone. He also testified about a silver van turning left in front of the Jeep and shots being fired from the Jeep at the van.
The shooting was captured on video at 4:18 p.m., Olsaver said. That video showed the license plate of the Jeep, and that Jeep is registered to Kenyatto Sylvertooth.
"There is testimony that the driver of the Jeep was the shooter and there was also testimony that Kenyatto Sylvertooth did not let other people drive his car," Olsaver said.
Cellphone records showed Kenyatto Sylvertooth called Mark Sylvertooth at 4:20 p.m., and then Mark Sylvertooth called Kenyatto Sylvertooth at 4:24 p.m., Olsaver said.
"There's testimony from Mark Sylvertooth that Kenyatto Sylvertooth told him he was getting 'the hell out of here because somebody was trying to kill him or wanted to kill him,'" Olsaver said.
Police found Kenyatto Sylvertooth's vehicle in Detroit.
Simmons was taken by a private vehicle to ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital in Adrian Township where he later died from his wounds.
— Contact reporter David Panian at dpanian@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @lenaweepanian.
Most Popular
Comments / 0