Oxford Township man expected to be charged in fatal shooting of neighbor over text message

Oxford Township — A man who claimed he received a threatening text message early Wednesday morning is jailed and expected to face charges in the fatal shooting of a neighbor he told police he believed sent him the text.

The 36-year-old suspect and the victim lived in the same Oxford Township apartment complex. The suspect claimed not to know the man.

Detectives are expected to present the results of their investigation for possible criminal charges as early as Thursday.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard was angered by what he called a senseless killing.

“The random and unprovoked violence we are seeing across the county is unacceptable and those who commit these violent acts must be held to account,” Bouchard said.

The victim, Dennis Kirby Kendrick, 54, was seated in his Ford Escape in the parking lot of the Abbey Ridge Apartment Homes complex in the 200 block of E. Market St. in Oxford Township about 3:30 a.m. when he was fatally wounded.

The man in custody, who has a concealed weapons permit, was walking around the complex looking for the person he claimed had threatened him and spotted Kendrick in his car and believed him to be responsible, police said. He shot him multiple times with a 9 mm handgun and made a 911 emergency call claiming he was threatened.

Investigators found six spent shell casings in the lot and said Kendrick was pronounced dead at the scene.

mmartindale@detroitnews.com

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