Men posing as DTE employees charged with murder, denied bond

ROCHESTER HILLS — The two men accused in the Oct. 11 slaying of 72-year-old Rochester Hills businessman Hussein Murray have been charged.

Carlos Jose Hernandez, 37, and Joshua Zuazo, 39, both of Dearborn, were recently charged with felony murder and two counts of unlawful imprisonment.

“I want to reiterate how proud I am of our whole team and what they did to quickly move this case forward, not only taking our suspects off the street, but bringing evidence to the prosecutor to move this into her court for the next phase,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a statement. “Again, I compliment and thank our partners on the state, federal and local level for helping bring these individuals to the bar of justice.”

Hernandez was arraigned Friday, Oct. 25. He entered a not-guilty plea to his charges and his bond was denied.

According to Darla Finley of Pretrial Services, Hernandez is a multi-state offender with other convictions in the 53rd District Court and Ohio.

“There is concern for flight, given the seriousness of the offenses, while taking into account the concerning and random allegations surrounding this matter,” she said.

Hernandez’s attorney, Paulette Michelle Loftin, said her client is married with a minor stepchild and is employed.

“He owns his own company, so he does have a means to be a productive member of society,” she said.

Judge Laura Polizzi said the charges are “very serious,” including a charge of murder.

“This court does have concern about a flight risk, as the defendant was found in another state. I have an obligation to ensure the protection of the public, ” Polizzi said, before she denied his bond.

Hernandez is scheduled to appear in court for a probable cause conference Nov. 4 and a preliminary examination Nov. 12.

Zuazo was arraigned Oct. 18. He also entered a not-guilty plea to his charges, and his bond was denied.

According to Darla Finley of Pretrial Services, Zuazo has a history of violence — including convictions for armed robbery and receiving stolen property — and failing to appear in court.

Zuazo’s attorney, Josh Aprile, said his client is a father of three who is employed with a cement company in Detroit.

“He had been working there for about six-seven months. In fact, it is to my knowledge, based on my conversations with my clients, at the time of his arrest, he was on a job site, actually, so he was still in the community. Additionally, based on my conversations with my client, I don’t think there was any resistance to the police. He was brought into custody without any incident,” he said.

Polizzi said it’s “obvious that these charges are very serious.”

“This court has concern about the public safety, and this court does have concern about a flight risk,” Polizzi said before she denied his bond

Zuazo is scheduled to appear in court for a probable cause conference Oct. 29 and a preliminary examination Nov. 4.

The charges stem from the death of Hussein Murray, who was killed in his Rochester Hills home Oct. 11. The 72-year-old victim was the owner of Gold & Glitter Jewelry in Hamtramck.

The incident happened around 11:20 a.m. in the 3700 block of Newcastle Drive, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

Hernandez and Zuazo first arrived at the Murray’s home the evening of Oct. 10, claiming to be DTE employees. They said they were investigating a gas leak but were attempting to gain access to the home to rob him and his 72-year-old wife, according to reports.

They were turned away but returned the morning of Oct. 11 and were allowed in the home.

“We responded to a call that they had intruders come into the house posing as DTE workers and said there was a gas leak they needed to check, and they let them in,” Bouchard said in a previous interview. “The husband went to the basement with the two individuals, and a period of time later, the two individuals came back up without the husband, restrained the wife with duct tape and searched the house for a period of time and then left.”

The woman, who was upstairs, was able to free herself enough to call 911. The wife told deputies she believed at the time that her husband may have been kidnapped. It was not clear what was taken from the home.

“When we responded, we found a very tragic situation. The husband was deceased in the basement,” Bouchard said in a previous interview.

Authorities believe the incident to be a targeted and isolated attack.

Hernandez was arrested in Shreveport, Louisiana, by the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office. Caddo deputies on Interstate 49 spotted a vehicle that matched the description of Hernandez’s vehicle Oct. 12. Deputies there made a traffic stop and arrested Hernandez for multiple armed robbery warrants from Ohio and the Oakland County murder warrant. He was extradited from Louisiana and brought to the Oakland County Jail Oct. 24.

Zuazo was arrested Oct. 14 in Plymouth Township by members of the Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Apprehension Team, with assistance from the Detroit Fugitive Task Force, the Michigan State Police and the U.S. Marshal’s Service.

If convicted on the felony murder charge, both men face the possibility of life in prison without parole. Unlawful imprisonment is a felony punishable by up to 15 years and/or a fine up to $20,000.