Months after a 34-year-old Michigan man was shot to death in a Buena Vista Township home, his daughter’s mother surrendered to police to face charges she orchestrated the killing.
To that end, police allege she purchased the fatal gun a month before the shooting. Her male codefendant — currently imprisoned in another state — then tried selling the pistol on social media the day after killing, police allege.
Devon L. “Chip” Williams was shot multiple times around 3:30 a.m. on March 30 inside a duplex in the 3100 block of Walters Drive, between Aspen Drive and Willow Lane. Williams, a father of five, was still alive when police arrived at the scene.
He was taken to an area hospital, where staff pronounced him deceased.
Investigators developed two suspects, including 24-year-old Markeisha R. Burns-Cross, with whom Williams has a 2-year-old daughter in common. Authorities issued a warrant for Burns-Cross in late June.
According to Buena Vista Township Police Detective Russ Pahssen, Burns-Cross was living in Indiana at the time and came back to Saginaw County to visit. She contacted Williams and told him she was coming over to pick him up, Pahssen said.
Burns-Cross arrived at the duplex with another man and shortly thereafter, they repeatedly shot Williams, Pahssen said. Another woman was present in the house and hid in a closet, then called 911, he added.
Burns-Cross purchased the gun in Jackson about a month prior, Pahssen said. The day after the shooting, the male codefendant tried selling the gun on Facebook, he added.
Both Burns-Cross and her codefendant left Michigan shortly after the shooting. Burns-Cross initially went to Ohio, where Pahssen interviewed her. She then relocated to California for work purposes.
“Once she found out there was a warrant out for her, she contacted me and advised within the next few weeks she wanted to turn herself in,” the detective said.
Burns-Cross surrendered to police on July 20. The next morning, she appeared before Saginaw County District Judge M. Randall Jurrens for arraignment on single counts of first-degree premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent, plus two counts of felony firearm. A first-degree murder conviction mandates life in prison without possibility of parole.
Defense attorney Christopher White asked a not-guilty plea be entered on Burns-Cross’ behalf and that her case be referred to the Office of Assigned Counsel. He described her as being currently homeless.
Jurrens ordered Burns-Cross held without bond.
Burns-Cross’ 24-year-old codefendant has no ties to Saginaw and was on parole out of Indiana on a burglary conviction from 2019. On April 24, he was sentenced to two more years, plus two 11-month terms on convictions of receiving stolen auto parts and resisting police.
He is currently incarcerated at Miami Correctional Facility near Bunker Hill, Indiana. His earliest possible release date is April 14, 2025.
Williams and Burn-Cross’ daughter is being raised by Williams’ mother in Columbia, Tennessee.
“I knew (Burns-Cross) did this from the day they told me he was passed,” Lockett said. “She had no regards for me or her baby. I just would love to know why would she do this. I don’t understand. My son was no fighter, no gangbanger, no nothing.”
Williams’ death is the second time Lockett has lost a son to gun violence. In 2011, the younger of her two sons, Jarail Jackson, was shot to death at age 18 in Syracuse, New York. No one was ever charged in that homicide.
Williams was raised in Saginaw but moved out of state with his family in 2004. After graduating from high school in Syracuse, he moved back to Saginaw.
“He loved Saginaw,” his mother said. “He always said he wanted to go back home.”
She remembered her son as a sweet and fun-loving man, who would begin each day by messaging people “Good morning, beautiful.”
“He just liked to have fun and make people happy,” Lockett said. “He wanted to make everybody feel special.”
Lockett had no other children beside the two who have now predeceased her. While she’s pleased suspects have been charged in Williams’ killing, she said closure was not in her future.
“I’ll never have closure because I don’t have my son,” she said. “Devon didn’t bother nobody. He just wanted to listen to music, dance, and be around friends, family, and his kids. He wouldn’t harm a fly.”
Burns-Cross is to appear for a preliminary examination at 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 11.
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