The suspect in the Howell shooting death of an MSU student last week is currently jailed on home invasion and domestic violence charges.
While Howell Police have not identified the person responsible for the death of Oghenevwede Okagbare that occurred just after midnight on Friday, August 11th at a home on the 400 block of West Street, GIGO News has learned from a source that 22-year-old Reese Durand Hammie was the person taken into custody.
Hammie is currently lodged at the Livingston County Jail on a $750,000 bond 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.
Court records indicate that Hammie was 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 August 11th 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 with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday. It was at that hearing that 53rd District Court Judge Shauna Murphy placed the $750,000 bond on Hammie.
Howell Police did not return a request asking for confirmation that Hammie was the suspect in the shooting death.
However, they did release a statement earlier on Tuesday saying that detectives had executed several search warrants and were continuing to process information as it comes in.
“We ask that the public be patient as we process that information for presentation to the Livingston County Prosecutors Office for review. At this time, the suspect remains in custody on unrelated charges,” it said.
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.
Hammie, meanwhile, is next due in court on August 29th for a probable cause conference on the home invasion charge.
