A dispute in Pontiac turned fatal in the early hours of May 8, 2023, when 66-year-old Wyatt Earp Gean was shot on the 700 block of Whittemore Street. Responding officers found Gean with a gunshot wound to the chest shortly before 3 a.m.; he was taken to a nearby hospital and died during surgery.

Police identified 32-year-old Maurice Eugene Sanders as a suspect and arrested him within 11 hours of the shooting. Sanders was charged with open murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and being a felon in possession of a weapon. Court records show prior convictions in 2007 in Florida and 2013 in Georgia for offenses including vehicle theft, drug possession, and fleeing from law enforcement; he was arraigned in 50th District Court and ordered held without bond pending further hearings.

If anyone saw the argument or has information about events on Whittemore Street that night, please share what you know with investigators.