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Walker
EASTPOINTE — An Eastpointe man charged with shooting his stepson multiple times in 2023 faces life in prison after receiving a guilty verdict.
Johnny Domingo Walker, 64, was convicted Feb. 26 after a five-day jury trial. Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth Abbo led the case for the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office.
Walker was found guilty of assault with intent to murder, a potential life felony; possession of a firearm by a felon, a five-year felony; possession of ammunition by a felon, a five-year felony; four counts of felony firearm, each a mandatory two-year felony; and assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer, a two-year felony. He was also charged with and found guilty of being a habitual fourth offender.
Walker’s sentencing is set for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 2, before Judge Kathryn Viviano in Macomb County Circuit Court.
The shooting occurred Dec. 22, 2023. Officers with the Eastpointe Police Department were called to a home in the 22000 block of Lambrecht Avenue, near Toepfer Drive and Kelly Road, at around 10:40 p.m. A woman there had called 911 screaming, “He killed my baby!”
Upon arrival, police observed Walker standing over a woman in the front yard, where he allegedly had pursued her at gunpoint and attempted to pull her back inside.
When officers attempted to approach Walker, he fled inside the home. When officers spoke to the woman, she told them that her husband had just shot his stepson, age 51, and that the victim was still in the home where the armed husband was hiding.
Officers formed a perimeter around the house, working together with officers from the police departments in St. Clair Shores and Roseville to secure the area. Additional personnel from the Eastpointe Police Department’s detective bureau and Special Investigations Unit were also called in.
Once detectives managed to establish contact with the suspect, he told them that he would come outside, yet never did. However, the police were able to determine where the wounded victim was located in the home and could hear him breathing heavily.
Ultimately, police from all three departments forced entry into the residence and were able to quickly extract the wounded victim to a waiting ambulance. The suspect was then found upstairs, where he surrendered immediately.
Walker was taken into custody, and the victim was taken to a nearby hospital. He was listed in critical condition at the time, with two gunshot wounds to the chest and upper torso, but he survived. Police said that in interviewing Walker, he reportedly confessed to shooting his stepson.
Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido commented on the case in a press release.
“I am grateful to the Eastpointe Police Department for their swift response, which undoubtedly saved lives that day,” Lucido said. “We also appreciate the jury’s time and dedication in delivering justice in this case.”
Walker’s attorney, Joshua Van Laan, shared his thoughts in an email following the verdict.
“This was a difficult case for everyone involved,” Van Laan said. “The facts were especially problematic — for both sides, no doubt. I would hope that this was a difficult decision for the jury, especially given the high number of inconsistent and conflicting statements made by the witnesses at trial. People see and hear things differently, and in a criminal trial, the jury gets the final say.
“And while I disagree that the prosecutor established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt for the assault with intent to murder charge, I respect the jury’s verdict, and I am glad that they agreed that Mr. Walker was not guilty of assaulting his wife with a dangerous weapon,” he added.
A new case, filed Feb. 7, charges Walker with assault with intent to murder and prisoner possessing weapons.
“I am going to reserve any comment since the matter is still pending,” Van Laan said. “I will state that it’s based upon an alleged assault on another inmate in the Macomb County Jail, nothing that I believe rises to the level of an assault with intent to murder.”
