By Jazmine Steele on May 22nd 2010 9:04AM
Filed under: News
The unfortunate chain of events that led to
Aiyana Jones' death last Sunday began that Friday at a convenience store on St. Jean and Mack, located just around the corner from the house, where the 7-year-old was accidentally
shot by Detroit police.
At the store,
Je'Rean Blake, a 17-year-old student at
Southeastern High School, was shot in the heart at close range shortly after dismissal from school Friday afternoon.The corner store (pictured below), a usual pit stop for students at Southeastern, was frequented by
Donovan Jackson (pictured above, outside the store), 17, a schoolmate who considered Blake as a big brother.
"He [Blake] would talk to me anytime I needed somebody to talk to. He was more of like a protector to a lot of people," Jackson said.
According to Jackson, Blake hung around a tough crowd but was all in all a good kid:
"He wasn't a bad guy, but a lot of people may have thought that because of the people he hung around," Jackson said. "He was a real good guy. Friendly, always talking about people, joking around and what not but he was also a hot head, so if you said something to him then he would retaliate real quick."
Related Articles: Exclusive: Aiyana Jones' Neighbors Say House Was No Place for Little Girl, Area Residents Respond to Death
That Friday, Jackson said he had seen Blake earlier in the day, just before the shooting took place. He said he received a call from another friend, informing him of Blake's death just as his bus pulled near his home that evening.
"They said the guy [Owens] happened to bump him [Blake] and he said something to the guy and he felt disrespected and the guy just automatically snapped," Jackson said. "I don't see why if you're an older guy you would do that. You shouldn't go get a gun and shoot nobody, because that's petty, but that's how he retaliated."
It has since been reported that a grimacing stare is what allegedly ignited the altercation, causing 34-year-old
Chauncey Owens to ultimately shoot and kill Blake.
Sunday night, police were looking for Owens in connection to the murder, when they
raided the home of Aiyana Jones and mistakenly shot her. Owens, found in the upstairs unit of the two-family flat, was taken in to custody that night and arraigned on charges of first-degree murder Thursday. He is being held without bond until a preliminary hearing takes place June 1st.
A vigil for Blake was held at the corner store this past Wednesday, and the funeral will take place on Monday at 10 a.m. at
Triumph Church in Detroit. The funeral for Aiyana Jones will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday at
Second Ebenezer in Detroit.
For their loved ones as well as fellow Detroiters, the tragedy presents baffling math: one trivial conflict should never equate to two untimely deaths.
Jazmine Steele is a freelance journalist from Detroit. She is the arts and culture reporter for the Michigan Citizen Newspaper and founder of uplifting community news site, www.nobaddnews.com.
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Comments: (15)
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By: Cynical Synapse on 5/22/2010 5:08PM
Agreed. And equally guilty of disgustingly opportunistic self-purpose with Aiyana Jones' death are Rev. Jesse Jackson, US Rep. John Conyers, Wayne County Executive Ficano, and, particularly, bottom-feeder Geoffrey Feiger.
None of them care at all about the innocent little girl taken from us. They sure could care less about the family. They only care what they can get out of the media circus. It's thoroughly disgusting.
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By: Cynical Synapse on 5/22/2010 5:14PM
Thank you for this opportunity to get to know Je'Rean Blake just a little better. I feel so bad for Lyvonne Cargill, his mother. Je'Rean's cold-blooded murder has been so overshadowed by the tragic accident that took the life of little Aiyana Stanley-Jones.
The outrage needs to be directed at Chauncey Owens and people like him, including Aiyana's family and their entanglement with Owens. Sharpton and Jackson have cast their lot with the wrong victim. But it's easy to blame the police and it's hard to come up with practical solutions for Detroit's problems.
The hard reality is two families have lost a child and they can't be brought back.
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By: marie nelson on 5/22/2010 5:54PM
What happen to surrounding a house and telling everyone to come out and get on your knees with you hands behind your head? Everyone is as fault for this childs death.Not a word has been spoken by either parent. I'm suspicious of everyone involved. Police officers stick together, and I don't think a whole lot is going to come from this investigation. I hurt for the lost of those children.
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By: lmg on 5/22/2010 11:02PM
I wholeheartedly agree. That is one of the reasons why I hardly had any respect for Tavis Smiley's State of the Union Address and for the people who frequently show up on that stage. They go on and on about the issues that Blacks face, but say nothing about the Black on Black crime. There is never an excuse to shoot a Black person (or any person for that matter) in the face (over something that petty) unless it involves self-defense. However, in a number of instances, such as this one, it seems as people look for trouble or any other ego tripping reason to "set it off". Furthermore, I didn't see any of the other people mentioned take up for the seven year old that was gang-raped through the assistance of her 15yr-old sister.
Nevertheless, I still hold the Detroit police responsible as I believe that there is some protocol from preventing such tragedies from happening. However, I feel that Owens, the "original" perpetrator (and all of those responsible for senseless Black on Black crime that leads to murder) needs to have the book thrown at him.
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By: Blair on 5/23/2010 2:21AM
This abomination is not about Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson! This domino effect of a tragedy started with two fully grown men, one of whom had a beef with a 17 y/o! Owen's initially left Je'rean then came BACK with Aiyana Jones' "father" and gunned down a child, because Owens felt dissed. In this 34 y/o man's feeble, sociopathic mind, felt that only way to save face was to get his "boy" and come back and shoot a child in the HEART!
The police made things worst by the way they attempted to find and arrest Owens. They shot into the home (from outside) and threw a flash grenade into the residence with total disregard to anyone residing in the home, even when they were told that there were children in the home. It is not the norm to throw a flash grenade into a dwelling without proper cause. The police officer's poor judgement resulted in a dead 7 y/o with a bullet wound and flesh burns.
The truth of the matter is that Aiyana & Je'rean were born into a environment where as they didn't have a chance. Aiyana because of a sh*t for brain's father, and Je'Rean because of an unfortunate encounter with an overgrown neighborhood bully. Add overzealous police officers to the mix and you have 2 dead children. Aiyana's father may not have pulled a trigger, but he has the blood of BOTH children on his hands. He was an enabler in the worst way.
Please people put the blame and place the outrage where it needs to go!!!
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By: sugar bear on 5/23/2010 10:26AM
This is truely sad!carma is a B#$%^
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By: djkut on 5/23/2010 11:59AM
Well said Blair I concur
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By: Mike P on 5/23/2010 4:15PM
Neither "Black Voices", "Black Spin", or most (or all) of you BV posters actually care about justice or the Black community; since there is all this tears and hand wringing about the tragedy with this poor little girl (because of a murderer) - but NO MENTION by "Black Voices", Black Spin", or any BV poster (except me) about the Black HERO Chicago cop being killed by Black GARBAGE:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/2305000,paris-mcgee-chicago-cop-murder-052210.article
You all want to blame Rev. Sharpton for exploiting the situation; what is the excuse ALL OF YOU supposed "Black People" use for COMPLETELY IGNORING the death of a true Black HERO.
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By: jam on 5/25/2010 6:58PM
WHEN WILL IT END MILLIONMOMMARCH.ORG
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By: GONNA ALWAYS HAVE MY SAY on 5/23/2010 9:46PM
THE MURDERED GUY SURE DIDN'T SOUND LIKE A "GOOD GUY" TO ME....PERHAPS HE WAS A GOOD GUY LIKE THE GOOD GUY DOLL..."CHUCKIE?
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