Murder charges have been filed in the shooting death of an MSU student last month in Howell.
As GIGO News initially reported, 22-year-old Reese Durand Hammie (pictured above) had been held by police on home invasion and domestic violence charges following the death of Oghenevwede Okagbare that occurred just after midnight on Friday, August 11th at a home on the 400 block of West Street.
However, court records indicate Hammie was charged on Wednesday with a count of open murder and another charge of bribing/intimidating/interfering a witness. He was arraigned on Thursday and is being held with no bond.
“This case has been an example of tremendous teamwork and cooperation between law enforcement agencies involved in this case,” stated a press release from the Howell Police Department, who thanked the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office, Michigan State Police, Green Oak Twp. Police, and Meridian Twp. Police for their assistance in this investigation.
Hammie remains lodged at the Livingston County Jail where he is also facing four misdemeanor charges of domestic violence based on a May 4th incident investigated by the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office. He is also charged with a fifth count of domestic violence and a felony charge of first-degree home invasion based on an August 1st incident investigated by the Howell Police Department.
Hammie had been provided a personal bond when he was arraigned May 5th on the domestic violence charges, as well as being ordered not to possess or purchase firearms. However, when he failed to appear for an August 3rd court date, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
Following his arrest by Howell Police after Okagbare’s death, Hammie was arraigned on the August 1st charges and given a $500,000 bond. He was also arraigned on the bench warrant for his bond violation in the May 4th incident. It was at that hearing that 53rd District Court Judge Shauna Murphy placed the $750,000 bond on Hammie. Once the murder charge was filed, his bond was revoked.
Okagbare’s family members said the 20-year-old was at his girlfriend’s home on West Street when the father of her child shot Okagbare six times. Social media posts indicate Hammie is the father of a young child whose mother was identified by neighbors as having lived in the West Street residence where the shooting occurred, but has since moved out.
Hammie, meanwhile, is due in court on September 19th for a probable cause conference on the murder charge.
