Background: News footage of Terrance Sandles at his arraignment on Nov. 10 (WXYZ). Inset (left): Marvan Batoo (Facebook). Inset (right): Ghaith Baban (GoFundMe).
A man, dissatisfied with a car purchase from a Michigan auto dealer, allegedly took a deadly turn, resulting in the fatal shooting of two individuals and the subsequent robbery of the dealership.
Authorities in Macomb County have apprehended 46-year-old Terrance Sandles, a Texas resident who was staying at a Romulus hotel after fleeing Texas on different charges. During a news briefing on Tuesday, Shelby Township Police Chief Robert Shelide discussed the events of November 7. Sandles allegedly approached Star Auto to confront its owner, 40-year-old Marvan Batoo, about a $3,000 purchase of a 2007 GMC Hummer that he believed was a “lemon.”
Shelide explained that after a heated exchange between Sandles and Batoo, caught on surveillance footage, Sandles allegedly shot both Batoo and 48-year-old Ghaith Baban, a customer in a meeting with Batoo. Following the alleged shooting, Sandles is said to have robbed the dealership of an unspecified sum before escaping in a vehicle that later helped authorities trace him.
Sandles allegedly fired at Batoo and Baban at “point-blank range,” with the intention of killing Batoo, while Baban was tragically caught in the crossfire. Their bodies were found by a returning employee after a delivery run.
Investigators used neighborhood license plate readers to capture the plates of the vehicle Sandles was seen entering after the alleged crime. This led them to the vehicle’s registered owner and, eventually, to Sandles himself, who was located on November 8 at his Romulus hotel through cellphone data tracking.
Shelide said license plate reader cameras throughout the neighborhood near Star Auto were able to read the license plate on the vehicle that Sandles was seen getting into on camera following the alleged shooting. Sandles was linked to the person to whom the vehicle was registered, then ultimately tracked down on Nov. 8 at the hotel where he was staying in Romulus using data from his cellphone.
Inside Sandles’ hotel room were two guns, one of which was believed by police to be the alleged murder weapon. The allegedly stolen cash was also located in the same room. Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said that authorities also found a “large quantity of cocaine.”
Sandles was arrested and booked into the Macomb County Jail, where he is being held without bond. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of armed robbery; one count each of delivery and manufacture of controlled substances, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, possession of ammunition by a prohibited person, and carrying a concealed weapon; and seven felony firearm charges.
He was arraigned in the 41A District Court in Macomb County on Monday. His next court date is scheduled for Nov. 24.
