Two shot in Pontiac; reward offered for twice-convicted murderer
Authorities are searching for a twice-convicted murderer suspected of fatally shooting a man and seriously injured a woman after shooting her in a bathtub and leaving her for dead at a Pontiac house on Wednesday evening.
Michael Jerome Davis, 65, of Pontiac, was identified by the injured woman as the gunman in the shooting that happened at around 8 p.m. at a home in the 200 block of South Marshall Street in Pontiac, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
Davis is considered to be armed and dangerous, and residents are cautioned not to approach him.
The man shot dead has been identified as Franklin Delano Fleming, Jr., 62 of Pontiac.
Deputies on patrol in Pontiac on Wednesday were alerted to the shooting when the injured woman, a 60-year-old Waterford resident, ran into the street and asked for help. She had a gunshot wound on her hand and told deputies that Davis had shot her after entering the home, then ordering her into the bathtub until a mutual friend arrived, the sheriff’s office said.
The woman said she complied and, as Davis came closer to her she covered her head with her hands, heard a loud explosion and then saw blood. She told deputies she held her breath and pretended to be dead until Davis left the room and went downstairs. She then made her way to the roof and stayed there until spotting the deputies, the sheriff’s office said.
It was later found that she also suffered a head injury, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies saw the man believed to be Davis enter the home’s enclosed porch, and additional law enforcement was called to the scene including the sheriff’s SWAT. After unsuccessful attempts to contact Davis, SWAT members entered the house and found Fleming lying face down by the front door with a gunshot wound, the sheriff’s office said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Davis was not in the house, the sheriff’s office said.
Davis is believed to have been the lone gunman in the shooting. He has no known transportation and is believed to be in the Pontiac area, the sheriff’s office said.
Davis was convicted of aggravated murder in Ohio in 1984 and of another murder in 1991 while in prison. He was paroled in 2006.
Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for a tip that leads to Davis’ arrest. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAKUP. Tipsters remain anonymous.
The injured woman is recovering in an area hospital where she’s listed in stable condition.