Westland man arraigned, charged with murder of Grand Blanc teen

Detroit — A Westland man was arraigned Friday morning on murder charges in connection with the death of an 18-year-old man from Grand Blanc, prosecutors said. 

Avion Sanders, 23, was remanded to jail in 36th District Court after being charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, larceny, having a firearm as a felon and three counts of felony firearm, according to a press release from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.

A probable cause conference is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Aug. 26, followed by a preliminary examination on Sept. 2.

Detroit police arrested Sanders on Tuesday. He is accused of fatally shooting Jacob Hills, stealing his rifle and abandoning his vehicle at a hookah lounge in Dearborn Heights. 

Dearborn Heights police found Hills' vehicle just after 3 p.m. July 24 at a hookah lounge in the 6120 block of North Telegraph after going to the business for a welfare check, according to the press release. 

Early the next day, Detroit police found Hills' body in the basement of a residence in the 22330 block of West Warren, investigators said. He had multiple gunshot wounds. 

Sanders and Hills went to a party in Detroit the night of Hills' death, according to the Prosecutor's Office. Hills brought his new AR-15 with him, which he had bought that day in preparation for boot camp with the National Guard, his mother, Sadie Hills, told The Detroit News.

They both left the party and drove to the West Warren home, but only Sanders left, prosecutors said. 

“We try to never rush to judgment on cases because the facts are sometimes not as they initially appear or as reported. After thoroughly reviewing the DPD investigation and the timeline of events, we believe that we can prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt in court,” Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement. 

Sanders had failed to show up to a sentencing hearing earlier this year after he barricaded himself for hours and kept the police at bay in 2020. 

kberg@detroitnews.com