A Detroit man accused in a fatal shooting outside of a motorcycle club on the city’s west side has been charged, officials said.
Samuel Spencer Tipton Jr. was arraigned Wednesday in the 36th District Court in Detroit, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said.
The 35-year-old is charged with first-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and two counts of using a firearm during the commission of a felony, authorities said.
A magistrate ordered Tipton to be held at the Wayne County Jail without bond and scheduled his next court hearing for July 24.
If convicted, he faces up to life in prison for the murder charge, up to five years for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, and up to two years in prison for each count of using a firearm during a felony.
Tipton’s attorney, Jonathan Jones, was not immediately available for comment on Friday.
The incidnet
Police said officers were called at about 3 a.m. March 1 to a motorcycle club in the 7100 block of West Warren Avenue near Livernois Avenue for a report of a shooting.
They arrived and found Darrell Moore inside the club with a gunshot wound to his neck, according to officials. Medics arrived and pronounced the Detroit resident dead.
Detectives said they believe Tipton approached Moore and shot him in the neck before fleeing. Police said officers arrested the suspect last week.
Tipton is a probationer who was set to be released from supervision next year, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections. He was sentenced in 2025 to two years of probation for carrying a concealed weapon, the agency said.
He also has previous convictions for possessing burglar’s tools, operating a chop shop, and carrying a concealed weapon, according to the corrections department.
In 2021, Tipton was charged in connection with a shooting at a Detroit banquet hall that left one man dead and five other people with non-fatal injuries. The case was later dismissed, according to court records.
First-degree murder cases
Tipton’s case is among recent cases in which defendants have been accused of first-degree murder.
Last week, a fugitive from Guatemala linked to a Farmington Hills man’s death 25 years ago was found and arraigned on murder charges.
Earlier this month, a Farmington Hills man was charged in connection with the alleged murder of his grandmother.
Last month, a Royal Oak nanny was ordered to stand trial for murdering an 83-year-old man with a screwdriver on Oct. 24, 2025.
cramirez@detroitnews.com
@CharlesERamirez
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Probationer charged in fatal shooting at Detroit motorcycle club
Reporting by Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
