Detroit, MI: Shooting suspect Demetrius Hinton surrenders

Detroiter is wanted in August 2009 killing

BY ZLATI MEYER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

A 20-year-old Detroit man arraigned Tuesday in the August shooting death of a man and wounding of another also is suspected of being one of two gunmen who shot seven teens at a bus stop near Cody High School on Detroit's west side two months earlier, federal documents state.

Demetrius Hinton is accused of killing Donald Bohlinger, 42, and shooting Thomas Roberts in the shoulder Aug. 11, 2009, in a drug deal gone bad on the 9300 block of Plainview, according to investigators. He turned himself in to police Monday.

Hinton also is suspected of being a gunman in the rampage at a bus stop at the Southfield Freeway Service Drive and West Warren on June 30, 2009, according to an FBI affidavit. He allegedly was looking to shoot Rimiah Jefferson, who was dating Hinton's ex-girlfriend at the time.

But "in Demetrius Hinton's blatant disregard for human life he ended up shooting several other individuals in an attempt to kill Jefferson," an affidavit states.

Maria Miller, spokeswoman for Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, said Tuesday that Hinton is charged in the drug deal shooting with felony murder and premeditated murder, which carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison; assault with intent to murder and assault with intent to rob while armed, which have a maximum sentence of life in prison; and felony firearm, which has a mandatory sentence of two years consecutive.

No charges have been filed against Hinton in connection with the shooting near the school. Detroit Police Department spokesman John Roach acknowledged that investigators want to speak with Hinton regarding the bus stop shooting, but he declined to elaborate.

Federal investigators said Hinton knew he was wanted by police, but traveled to Georgia, where he wanted to go to college. The National Crime Information Center indicated he applied for financial aid at Atlanta Technical College.

Contact ZLATI MEYER: 313-223-4439. Staff writer Amber Hunt contributed.