Detroit Man Charged in Gas Station Fatal Assault

Published on July 01, 2025

Prosecutor Kym Worthy has charged Javonte Rayshawn Barber, 26, of Detroit, in connection with the fatal assault of Samuel Spruill Jr., 44, of Troy.

On June 27, 2025, at approximately 3:09 p.m., at a gas station in the 11600 block of East McNichols Road in Detroit, it is alleged that a verbal altercation between the defendant and the victim escalated. Defendant Barber punched Mr. Spruill in the face, causing him to fall to the ground and hit his head on the pavement. Medics arrived on the scene and transported the victim to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased. Investigation by the Detroit Police Department led to the arrest of the defendant a short time later.

Javonte Rayshawn Barber has been charged with Manslaughter.*

He was arraigned on June 30, 2025, in 36th District Court before Magistrate Joseph Boyer and given a $100,000 cash/surety bond with a GPS tether and house arrest. A bond re-determination hearing is scheduled for July 2, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., before Judge William McConico. The Probable Cause Conference is scheduled for July 10, 2025, at 8:30 a.m., and the Preliminary Examination is scheduled for July 17, 2025, at 8:45 a.m., before Judge Shawn Jacque.

Please request a photograph of the defendant from the Detroit Police Department. 

*The charges are allegations and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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