Accused killer of 2 gets prelim exam date
A preliminary exam is scheduled for a Pontiac man accused of gunning down two men last July 4, killing them. Dazon Louis Mathis, 22, is charged with two counts each of open murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony for the fatal shootings of Christopher Cintron-Mateo, 30, and Jonathan Alvarado Santiago, 29, both of Pontiac.
On March 18, the preliminary exam will be held before 50th District Judge Michael Martinez where it will be determined if enough evidence has been presented for the case to advance to Oakland County Circuit Court. At a probable cause conference Tuesday with Martinez, assistant prosecutor Ric Polanco said he expects to call “three to four witnesses, at least” to testify.
The shootings happened outside a home in the 500 block of Valencia Drive, and the two victims were found lying in the street. Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies called to the scene recovered the gun believed to have been used in the shootings.
Last August, Martinez ordered Mathis to the state’s Center for Forensic Psychiatry for evaluation of competency and criminal responsibility, as requested by his attorney at the time, William Hatchett. Hatchett asked for the evaluation because of “memory deficits” and “a history of psychological problems in his family.” Hatchett told the court that Mathis was reporting “an inability to recall many of the facts regarding this incident.”
Mathis is in the Oakland County Jail, denied bond. The preliminary exam is scheduled to be held in-person.