The Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) - A man was charged with murder Tuesday in what prosecutors say was the execution-style death of a police officer shot in the head while on duty.
Tony Townsend, 27, of Inkster, who is accused of shooting Officer Scott Stewart early Sunday, was released from prison in 2000 after serving a seven-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter.
Stewart, 31, died Sunday afternoon from a gunshot wound he received just before 3 a.m. Police said he was shot while responding to complaints of gambling in the street.
Wayne County Prosecutor Mike Duggan said Stewart “was a victim of illegal guns in this city” killed by a man who “had no legal right to have a gun.”
Stewart was scheduled to begin a vacation Monday. He and his fiancee, an officer in the city’s 11th Precinct, planned to be married a year from September, police said.
Police said Townsend walked up behind Stewart while he was arresting Townsend’s brother-in-law and fired a single shot at Stewart’s head.
Last month, Hazel Park officer Jessica Wilson was shot to death while handling a complaint about an unleashed dog. Wilson, a 26-year-old who had 21 months with the Hazel Park police, was fatally shot in the neck.
Wilson’s husband is an officer in the same precinct where Stewart’s fiancee works.
In February, Detroit Police officer Michael Scanlon was stabbed to death during what police say was a routine traffic stop.