A Canton Township man charged with fatally shooting a 35-year-old father faces a pretrial conference at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, in a case that has stretched more than two years.
Devereaux Christopher Johnson faces first-degree murder, felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of felony firearm in the Aug. 10, 2024, death of Nathan Morris, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office weekly case update published Oct. 9.
Morris was shot in the 200 block of Cornell Street in Canton while out for a walk with his family, Hometown Life reported. The dispute may have started when Morris's daughter was playing with mulch near Johnson's home. Morris, an engineer and father of two young daughters, sent his daughter home before the shooting.
Morris was unarmed.
A police officer testified to that at a July 2025 preliminary exam. Johnson has claimed he acted in self-defense, saying he was threatened. Video played in court showed Morris with his hands up when Johnson fired, the Detroit News reported.
A Wayne County Circuit Court judge found Johnson mentally competent to stand trial on Aug. 5. He has had at least five appointed attorneys since the case began. Judge Charise Anderson is presiding.
Plymouth stalking case heads to sentencing
In a separate case on the same prosecutor's update, Christopher Dean Baldwin of Jackson faces sentencing Nov. 13 at 9 a.m. in Third Circuit Court before Judge Miller.
Baldwin pleaded nolo contendere (no contest) June 4 to one count of aggravated stalking in connection with stalking Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and her wife, Plymouth City Commissioner Alanna Maguire. All other charges were dismissed.
Baldwin, 42, was originally charged with two counts of misdemeanor stalking after allegedly showing up at Nessel and Maguire's Plymouth home, ringing the doorbell and sitting on the porch. That visit came one day after police say he attended a Plymouth City Commission meeting where Maguire was present, according to FOX 2 Detroit.
While the original misdemeanor case was pending, Baldwin was evaluated and found incompetent. The criminal case was dismissed, and Baldwin was placed under the jurisdiction of the Wayne County Third Circuit Court's Probate Division. Prosecutors then filed aggravated stalking charges in March 2025 after investigators said Baldwin used Nessel and Maguire's Plymouth home address and Nessel's phone number without permission to receive court documents from Jackson County.
When those charges were filed in March 2025, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said, "This is criminal behavior and cannot be tolerated."
Baldwin was arraigned on the aggravated stalking charges March 27, 2025, in 35th District Court and was given a $200,000 cash/surety bond with a tether ordered if released at that time.
