Eric M. Wills II spend the last nine months in the Saginaw County jail, but he’s a free man today after a jury of his peers concluded that he acted in self-defense, not in wanton aggression, when he shot and killed a man who’d physically threatened him.
According to Wills’ account, he was sitting with a female friend in his car on the evening of July 9, 2024 when a Kia SUV pulled up behind him. 31-year-old Equayvis S. “Quay” Moten got out of the Kia and approached Wills and his friend. Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Melissa J. Hoover admitted that Moten was “somewhat aggressive” when he encountered Wills, telling him to get out of the car and threatening a fight.
When Wills exited his sedan, he had his gun in hand, according to Hoover. Moten and Wills scuffled before Wills fired a shot and struck Moten, who ended up inside Wills’ Dodge Avenger.
Wills pulled Moten from his vehicle, got in the seat himself, and drove off, leaving the woman behind. The woman entered her house and called 911.
Moten was taken via ambulance to a local hospital where he died shortly after 1 a.m. He had suffered two wounds to his left arm and one each to his chest and abdomen.
When police arrested Wills later that day, they found a minute amount of blood in his vehicle’s nooks and crannies, as well as a bristle cleaner with the possible presence of blood, Hoover said.
[Defense Attorney Alan] Crawford argued Moten had marijuana in his system and a blood-alcohol level of 0.18 at the time of his death. A person is legally intoxicated in Michigan when their blood-alcohol level hits 0.08; they’re considered “super drunk” once the level hits 0.17.
He repeatedly referred to Moten as the “drunk, violent aggressor.”
Wills and the woman had been dating for about eight months, Crawford said. Wills was unaware of drama involving her exes and had never met Moten, he added.
Moten had been stalking the woman’s house and sped past it at 60 mph, only to come back around, parked in the middle of Ruckle Street, and purposefully walk toward Moten’s Avenger without closing his own vehicle’s door, Crawford said.
Even though the state acknowledged that Moten was the initial aggressor, it was Hoover’s contention that Wills wasn’t in fear for his life when he shot Moten. A jury of Wills’ peers disagreed, however, and unanimously acquitted him of murder, which could have sent him to prison for the rest of his life if convicted.
Crawford contends that a murder charge was never appropriate, telling local media that he “knew all along it was a valid case of self-defense” and that “the jury saw this and were able to come to a quick conclusion.”
Wills still faces a charge of possession of fewer than 25 grams of a narcotic or cocaine in an unrelated case, but after the jury acquitted him on homicide charges the Saginaw County judge overseeing his prosecution allowed him to leave the jail where he’s been confined since last July after posting a $20,000 personal recognizance bond. That’s a relatively minor charge, all things considered, and I wouldn’t be surprised if prosecutors end up offering him a plea deal that amounts to time served and a stint on probation.
Prosecutors haven’t explained why they decided to charge Wills with homicide given the circumstances under which Moten lost his life, but it sounds like the jury made the right call here. If nothing else, though, this case is another reminder that even though we may be justified in using lethal force to protect ourselves or others, prosecutors may see things very differently, and our freedom may hinge on what twelve strangers have to say about our actions.
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