Cop testimony: Killing stemmed from fight over coat with $19K stashed in pockets
HOLLAND — The killing of Holland man Joseph Roberts on June 19 appears to have been sparked by an angry confrontation over a coat in which the suspected shooter had stored thousands of dollars in cash.
In a court hearing to obtain the arrest warrant for suspect Thaddeus Cortrez Wilson, 39, a Holland Department of Public Safety detective testified that police interviewed multiple witnesses who described the events of the evening, which took place outside Wilson's apartment on Lincoln Avenue, where he lived with his girlfriend.
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Wilson, described by witnesses as very drunk, was having a party at the apartment. Two witnesses said he became angry and started yelling at a woman who "had taken a coat out of his closet to to wear that night because it was cold." Those witnesses told police the coat was where Wilson kept "his special stuff."
The same witnesses saw Wilson take a gun out of a drawer and load it. Soon after, they heard the gunshots outside the apartment.
A neighbor interviewed by police also saw Wilson walking around the parking lot with a handgun in his hand after hearing the gunshots go off, yelling "call 911, he's gonna die." Roberts was shot 11 times.
During a search of the apartment, police found the coat upstairs in a bedroom with $19,000 in the coat pocket.
Police also found cocaine and methamphetamine in the apartment and two stolen handguns.
Wilson has been charged with open murder. According to police testimony, Wilson's phone has been turned off since the night of the murder and family members police interviewed have not heard from him.
Police believe the shooter used a 9 millimeter handgun. Wilson's girlfriend, according to the court transcript, confirmed that she owns a 9 mm Taurus handgun in addition to two other guns. The 9 mm Taurus was not found in a search of the apartment. The girlfriend told police she wanted to report it as stolen.
With the announcement of charges against Wilson, police distributed a photo of the wanted man.
In addition to the murder charge, Wilson has been charged with felony firearms, possession with intent to deliver cocaine, possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a felon.
His criminal history in Michigan includes drug-dealing charges he pleaded guilty to in Ottawa County in 2004, numerous misdemeanor convictions and, most recently, a 2019 incident for which Wilson was charged with home invasion and felony assault but ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of attempted larceny.
Roberts, the victim, has three children. The 36-year-old man was about to celebrate his ninth wedding anniversary with wife Bree Austin-Roberts.
Anyone with information about Wilson’s location is asked to contact the HDPS detective bureau at 616-355-1758 or the Ottawa County Silent Observer at 877-887-4536 or visit mosotips.com.
— Contact reporter Carolyn Muyskens at cmuyskens@hollandsentinel.com and follow her on Twitter at @cjmuyskens.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: HPD: Killing stemmed from fight over coat with $19K stashed in pockets
