3 charged in connection with Michigan deputy's death

DETROIT — Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy on Wednesday announced charges against three 18-year-olds in connection with the death of an Oakland County Sheriff's deputy in Detroit last summer.

Investigators identified Marquis Lamar Goins of Detroit, and Karim Blake Moore and Raymone Raylee Debose, both Clinton Township residents, as suspects after reviewing extensive evidence, Worthy said during a press briefing.

Officials expect the three would be arraigned Wednesday at the 36th District Court via Zoom, the Prosecutor's Office said.

Deputy Bradley Reckling, 30, was undercover investigating a stolen SUV in Detroit near Park Grove and Schoenherr Street when Debose allegedly fired a handgun from the stolen car and fatally shot Reckling on June 22.

Emergency responders took Reckling to a local hospital where he died of his injuries, according to the release. Reckling had been shot in the head and torso, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in June.

Goins and Moore were allegedly in the car with Debose during the shooting, Worthy said Wednesday.

Debose was charged on multiple counts, including murder of a police officer, receiving and concealing a motor vehicle, carjacking and conducting a criminal enterprise.

The former charge could yield Debose a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole or up to at least 60 years of incarceration, Worthy's office said.

Debose was also charged with four counts of carrying a concealed weapon and three counts of using a firearm to commit a felony.

Goins and Moore were both charged as accessories after the fact to a felony and for receiving and concealing a motor vehicle.

The two were also charged with conducting a criminal enterprise and four counts each for carrying a concealed weapon, among other counts.

“Holding the individuals accountable in the senseless murder of Deputy Brad Reckling is one of our highest priorities,” Bouchard said in a statement. “We appreciate all the work that the Detroit Police Department and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office has done to date and look forward to the perpetrators receiving the highest punishment possible. While that will never fill the void of husband, father, son, brother and friend to many, it will at least provide a sliver of justice.”

Authorities believe Reckling became aware of an auto theft ring involving the suspects in November and was investigating crimes associated with the ring on the day he was shot, Worthy said.

The auto theft ring committed crimes between cities in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, according to investigators across local law enforcement agencies, Worthy said.

The ring was criminally active from November 2023 through June and culminated in Reckling's death, for which Worthy charged the suspects as a continuing criminal enterprise, according to the release.

Investigators determined the criminal enterprise involved at least four carjackings, four additional stolen vehicles and eight counts of carrying weapons in vehicles.

Goins and Debose were both 17 at the time of the carjackings and turned 18 by the time of Reckling's death, Worthy said.

Investigators between local law enforcement agencies including OCSO and DPD reviewed social media posts, cell phone records and video records to bring forward charges against the three suspects, she said.

The breadth of evidence related to the extensive case is part of what delayed officials in announcing charges, Worthy said. "It was just the level and the volume of evidence, and also, because this started off as the death of a police officer but it turned into a whole 'nother empire as a result."

Bouchard told reporters in June that he believed Reckling's death was an ambush.

Reckling had been one of three detectives from OCSO's auto theft unit searching for the car in Detroit, he said.

His work touched many people's lives including among staff at OCSO, Bouchard said on Wednesday. News of the charges against suspects in Reckling's death was long awaited among OCSO law enforcement agents, he added.

"It has been a challenge to keep our team calm," he said. "When you lose somebody in the line of duty, you want to try to get things going, and it's important that it gets done right. And so while it did take a period of time, and there was a lot of anxiety the longer it went with our team, getting it done right is most important."

He is survived by his pregnant wife and three children, officials said.

"This one touches close to home," Detroit Police Chief James White said. "This is an officer who made a sacrifice in our city and was lost. A family man, a hero. And we know that today's announcement won't cause healing, but it is our prayer that it starts to bring some closure to this family."