SAGINAW, MI — At just 16, a Saginaw Township resident stands convicted of premeditatively killing one man and trying to kill two others when he shot them with an assault rifle.

Jurors in the trial of Jawon L. Williams deliberated for about two hours on Friday, Aug. 15, before finding the defendant guilty of first-degree murder and two counts of assault with intent to murder, and three counts of felony firearm. The convictions stem from the July 2024 homicide of 24-year-old Dennis C. Mayes Jr.

“We’re glad to bring closure to the victim’s family in this case,” Saginaw County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Blair N. Stevenson said. “Obviously, this was just another senseless act of gun violence.”

He credited the convictions to the work of Assistant Prosecutor Melissa J. Hoover, who tried the

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