A suspect in the homicides of three people found in a burning vehicle in Detroit will stay in jail while a federal gun case is pending against him and amid an ongoing investigation into the deaths.
Edward Delorean Redding, 29, of River Rouge on Thursday consented to detention three days after being arrested by federal agents and four days after investigators found the bodies of Redding’s girlfriend, 23-year-old Kourtney Davis, her mother, Sandra Davis, 44, and 9-year-old Ayva Sutton. Their remains were found Sunday when firefighters responded to a car blaze in an alley near 30th and Milford streets between Boxwood and Woodrow in Detroit.
Redding, restrained by handcuffs and ankle chains, his right hand heavily bandaged, made a brief appearance in federal court in Detroit in front of Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge David Grand. He was represented by court-appointed lawyer Nancy McGunn, who told the judge: “He is going to consent to detention.”
Redding faced long odds at being released on bail considering he is on parole from a state conviction. He was released from prison in July, following a carjacking conviction in 2011, and is on parole until July 9, 2026, according to Michigan Department of Corrections records.
Redding has not been charged with crimes related to the homicides but was charged with a gun crime because investigators say they found a gun inside his car following a brief chase that led to his arrest earlier this week.
A federal felon in possession of a firearm charge is among the most straightforward counts that prosecutors can file in a short amount of time. Any additional charges related to the homicides could be filed in state court after the ongoing investigation.
The federal criminal case filed Tuesday provides a chronology of events after investigators discovered the bodies Sunday. Detectives reviewed information from license plate readers installed across the city and focused on license plate scans associated with the burning vehicle to determine if another vehicle was traveling nearby prior to it being set on fire, Timothy Madison, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, wrote in an affidavit.
Detectives managed to identify the color, make and model of a vehicle traveling nearby about 25 minutes before the bodies were discovered early Sunday morning.
The vehicle, a 2009 Saturn Vue, was spotted leaving the area where the burning SUV was later discovered.
After identifying the Saturn Vue and learning it was registered to Redding, investigators started hunting for the vehicle.
Detroit police investigators soon found the silver Saturn and started surveilling it near River Rouge. Then the driver fled, according to the affidavit.
Soon after, a Michigan State Police trooper spotted it on southbound I-75 on the River Rouge Bridge.
“The trooper then attempted to initiate a traffic stop on the silver Saturn, however it accelerated away fleeing from the trooper,” the special agent wrote. “The silver Saturn started to take the exit for north Schaefer Hwy, before veering back onto I-75 southbound at the last second, driving through the shoulder to do so. The silver Saturn then passed a car in the right lane by driving on the shoulder and took the next exit for south Shaefer Hwy, driving approximately 50 mph through the tight corners on the exit ramp.”
Redding ran two red lights along Fort Street, crashed into the median and led investigators on a short foot chase, according to the court filing.
“Redding stated that he bought the silver Saturn after he was released from prison,” Madison wrote. “Redding initially stated he ran from the police because he’s on parole, and claimed he didn’t know the gun was in the car. However, Redding then later admitted to seeing the gun on the floor of the car and agreed with detectives that the gun was why he fled from the police.
“Redding said he was going to give the gun back to whoever put it in his car,” Madison added. “He also agreed with detectives that he touched the gun when he tried to push it under the seat, and therefore his DNA would likely be on the gun.”
Sutton has launched a GoFundMe campaign to assist her with funeral and memorial costs. As of Thursday afternoon, it had raised more than $13,600 toward its $20,000 goal.
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