On March 3, 2002, a large brawl at a dance hall in Hamtramck spilled into the street and gunfire left one man dead and three others wounded. The deceased was identified as Carlos Davis. Photographs taken at the party before the fight became a key piece of evidence when witnesses were shown the images.

Two witnesses, Robert Richards and Damon Ramsuer, initially identified William Deshun Johnson from those photographs as the man who fired the shots. Richards was killed before trial; his sworn preliminary-examination testimony identifying Johnson was read to the jury. Ramsuer recanted on the witness stand and denied seeing the shooter. Despite that, the jury convicted Johnson of second-degree murder for Davis’s death and of three counts of assault with intent to commit murder. He was sentenced to 35 to 60 years for the murder, to be served after a two-year felony firearm term, with concurrent 20 to 40 year terms for each assault.

Anyone who was at the dance hall that night or has information about the confrontation is asked to come forward.