Second of 2 suspects in 2009 murder of man facing trial
The second of two suspects accused of fatally shooting a Waterford man in his parents’ home in 2009 is headed to Oakland County Circuit Court for possible trial.
Several weeks after the conclusion of a preliminary exam in 51st District Court, Judge Richard Kuhn recently bound over the case against Maurice Hobson, 33, for his alleged role in the murder of Ruben Gutierrez, Jr., 24. On Nov. 12, 2009, Gutierrez’s father found him dead in the bedroom of their residence in the 200 block of North Cass Lake Road. It’s believed he was shot the night before.
Hobson is charged with first-degree felony murder, armed robbery and two counts of felony firearms, and is scheduled to be arraigned March 16 before Oakland County Circuit Judge Leo Bowman.
Facing the same charges for the slaying is Edward Tyre Barnes, 34. Prosecutors allege Barnes shot Gutierrez after he and Hobson went to the house to rob him. Barnes is serving a 3 to 30-year sentence in the Michigan Department of Corrections for car theft and breaking and entering.
Barnes’ next court appearance is also scheduled for March 16, for a pretrial hearing before the same judge.
Hobson and Barnes were identified as suspects soon after Gutierrez was killed. But the case had stalled for several years before new evidence — including statements allegedly made to police by Barnes’ former girlfriend a decade later — jumpstarted the investigation and led to charges against the two.