Brandon man pleads no contest in drive-by shootings

By Susan Bromley
Staff Writer
A Brandon Township man has pleaded no contest to all charges in the November drive-by shootings of two of his neighbors? homes on Granger Road.
Daniel Hunt, 18, made the plea March 1 during a final pre-trial hearing in front of Sixth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Wendy L. Potts.
Hunt will receive sentencing in front of Potts at 10:30 a.m., March 15, on one count of felonious assault, a four-year felony, and one count of felony firearm, a two-year felony, in relation to the shooting at a home in the 3100 block of Granger Road and three counts of discharge of firearm at a residence, a four-year felony and one-count of felony firearm, at the home in the 3000 block of Granger. He faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison on the firearm charges, says Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Chuck Snell.
The shootings began about 7:48 p.m., Nov. 12. A woman at the home in the 3100 block of Granger was sitting at a computer in the home’s den when two bullets penetrated the home. One of the bullets missed her by about 18 inches. She ran upstairs to her husband, who was preparing their two young sons for a shower, yelling their house was being fired upon. The pair went downstairs to check for damage when they heard two more shots and a lightbulb exploded in the foyer.
They called 911.
While police were investigating that shooting, their next door neighbor returned home to find that a beveled window next to her front door had been shattered by bullets. She left the home, found the police patrolling the road and informed them of what happened.
At about 10:30 p.m., as police were finishing up their investigation at the first home and a deputy with a K-9 was conducting a track outside, the next door home was fired upon again, with the homeowner inside with her daughter, the daughter’s boyfriend, a cousin and friend
A total of 15 patrol cars and numerous deputies responded to the scene, including Special Response Team members. An aviation unit also responded with negative results. Shell casings from a .22 caliber gun were found on Granger Road in front of the home, which had been shot at 16 times, with 13 bullets penetrating the interior.
The homeowners who originally called 911 had seven shots fired at their home, with six penetrating.
Hunt, who was a senior at Brandon High School, was arrested Dec. 1 after Oakland County Sheriff’s detectives received a tip. A .22 caliber gun obtained from the Hunt property matched the gun used in the shootings and during police interviews, Hunt confessed to shooting at the two homes. He told police he was intoxicated at the time.