By Ann Zaniewski
For the Daily Tribune
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A man who said he had been a pillar of his community was sentenced today to life in prison without parole for shooting his ex-girlfriend on Thanksgiving night.
“This was a senseless killing,” Oakland Circuit Judge Colleen O’Brien told Darrius McCrary. “It was purely out of jealously and a need for control.”
Prosecutors said 35-year-old McCrary burst into Fredericka Dixon’s Royal Oak Township home the night of Nov. 25, 2010 and fired multiple shots at her. He was also accused of firing at Dixon’s 18-year-old son, who testified as a witness in the trial.
McCrary was convicted in December of six of the eight criminal charges against him, including first-degree premeditated murder and first-degree felony murder. Those charges carry a mandatory penalty of life in prison without parole.
McCrary was also found guilty of home invasion and felony firearms charges.
Wearing orange jail garb and shackles, a soft-spoken McCrary said in court today that he is working to become a better person. The former school security guard said he regularly went to church and had been a pillar of his community.
“I just know God will have a different verdict than you,” he said.
McCrary fled after the shooting and was arrested about eight months later in Minnesota. He said when U.S. Marshals apprehended him and asked if he needed anything, he told them to grab his Bible.
Members of the victim’s family did not speak during the hearing.
Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Kelli Megyesi said Dixon, a 38-year-old mother of three, always put her children first. She said Dixon’s choice to move on from her relationship with McCrary ultimately cost her her life.
“What this man did was nothing short of selfish and cowardly,” Megyesi said.
Defense attorney Steven Lynch had argued that the shooting was not premeditated, with his client lacking the intent necessary for first-degree murder. Lynch had asked the judge to let the jury consider the lesser charge of manslaughter, a request that was denied.
Lynch said what happened was tragic and forever changed many lives.
After the sentencing hearing, people hugged each other in the hallway outside the courtroom.
McCrary’s sister, Royal Oak Township resident Kimberly Lileton, said two families have lost two beautiful people. She said she wants people to know that her brother is a good person.
“I would like for the world to know that he is not an animal,” she said. “He is a beautiful person, inside (and) out.”
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