Two charged with city’s first murder of year

By Charles Sercombe

The worst fear of residents living near the Shawdow Bar came true last Friday morning.

The bar has been the scene of numerous fights and gunplay. At 1:35 a.m. last Friday, a Detroit man, Gregory Nezbitt, 22, was shot three times in the upper torso as he was walking to his car.

Two Detroit men, Rapheal Newman and Mark Woods, both 19 years old, are being charged with Hamtramck’s first murder of the year. Both were arraigned on Thursday in Hamtramck 31st District Court and were charged with first degree murder. Their preliminary examination is scheduled for May 6 here in Hamtramck. They are being held in Wayne County jail without bond.

The two suspects were arrested after “numerous” tips were called into the police department. Detectives set up surveillance in a neighborhood outside of Hamtramck’s border where the suspects were seen.

That effort paid off with the arrest of the two.

The motive for the shooting is sketchy at this point. Detective Michael Szymanski said more details will come out in the preliminary examination. He said, however, that the two suspects had a prior altercation with friends of the victim.

Szymanski said the victim was shot at Casmere and Mitchell. A nearby resident living in the Zen Center told the Free Press that a bullet landed in her bedroom. Police say residents reported hearing numerous shots.

City Manager Bill Cooper said he might take action against the Shadow Bar because of ongoing problems at the bar. He said he might file a complaint with the Liquor Control Commission and ask for the bar’s license to be pulled.