Jeremy Michael Heath, inset, faces charges in the killing of Sean Thompson at a tattoo shop in Michigan. (Crime scene screenshot from WJBK/YouTube; Mug shot from Livingston County Sheriff’s Office)
The wife of a man facing a murder charge in a shooting at a tattoo parlor in Michigan says her husband fired in self-defense, calling the victim a “madman” who threatened to “kill everybody.”
Jeremy Michael Heath, 48, was charged with open murder in the death of Sean Thompson, 46.
In an emotional interview, Heath’s wife, Joann Mitchell, told Fox Detroit affiliate WJBK that Thompson had been acting like a “madman” in recent weeks and had sent threatening texts about an hour before the deadly shooting.
“A stupid lock on the door isn’t gonna save you,” she read from texts she said he wrote, during her interview with the outlet. “I will bury you.”
Then, through tears, she said about her husband: “He wouldn’t do that. He’s a good man. He’s a good daddy.”
“And who comes in here knowing that there’s kids in here and trying to do that and threatens to kill everybody?” she added. “Like, who does that?”
Heath’s attorney, Bill McCririe, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Law&Crime.
The shooting happened at the Metro Studios Inc. tattoo parlor at 104 West Grand River Avenue in downtown Howell on Friday just after 5:30 p.m., police said in a news release. Howell police responded to the business for a threats complaint and found Thompson dead inside from a gunshot wound. Howell is about 60 miles northwest of Detroit.
Thompson had been causing a disturbance, and there was a “known history of disputes between business staff and Mr. Thompson,” police said.
“While the events of last night are still under investigation, there is no current indication that Mr. Thompson was armed, however there were threats of violence being made,” police said. “As a result, the suspect in this incident fired one shot, striking Mr. Thompson and killing him.”
Authorities said Heath was immediately detained at the tattoo shop and booked into the Livingston County Jail the night of the killing. He initially faced charges of carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent, felony firearm and carrying a concealed weapon. Authorities said they added a charge of open murder on Tuesday “based upon additional information discovered during the investigation,” police said.
He was held without bail. A probable cause conference is set for July 9, online court records show. Heath has a conviction for assault and battery in Oakland County in 2020, online records show.
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