Jurors convicted Zakeem F. Jones after the state argued he armed himself, entered a duplex and killed Devon Williams in an ambush fueled by jealousy.
SAGINAW, Mich. — The murder case against Zakeem F. Jones rested on a chain of evidence that prosecutors said showed planning, pursuit and execution: angry text messages, a drive to a Buena Vista Township duplex, a 9 mm handgun, shell casings at the scene and witness testimony from Jones’ own then-fiancee.
That combination persuaded a Saginaw County jury in January to convict Jones in the March 2023 killing of 33-year-old Devon L. Williams, and it later led Judge Andre R. Borrello to sentence Jones to life without parole. The case mattered beyond one guilty verdict because it showed how prosecutors pieced together motive and premeditation in a shooting that happened inside a home, before children, with the victim unaware he was about to become the target of a deadly confrontation.
The state’s motive theory centered on jealousy. Prosecutors said Jones became enraged after discovering messages between his then-fiancee, Markeisha R. Burns-Cross, and Williams, her former partner. In public reporting, a prosecutor summed up the motive in blunt terms, saying Jones wanted to “obliterate the competition.” That line likely resonated because it translated a messy personal conflict into a clear courtroom narrative. Burns-Cross had reportedly begun texting Williams after arguing with Jones while the couple was out drinking in Bay City. According to the prosecution, Jones did not simply react emotionally in the moment. Instead, he directed Burns-Cross to continue contact and used the exchange to locate Williams. That distinction was central to proving premeditation rather than a spontaneous outburst.
The state’s account of the shooting itself added the physical act to that motive. Prosecutors said Jones and Burns-Cross drove to Williams’ duplex in Buena Vista Township, where Williams was babysitting children. Jones allegedly armed himself with a 9 mm handgun before trying to force Williams outside. When Williams did not come out, Jones went in. Burns-Cross testified that Williams was seated at a table when he saw Jones, and prosecutors said he tried to escape but found the front door locked. The state told jurors there was “no escape.” Burns-Cross said she heard multiple gunshots and felt heat in front of her face. Investigators later recovered shell casings and bullet fragments, evidence that helped support the prosecution’s description of multiple shots fired inside the residence.
The next piece was what happened after the gunfire. Williams was found wounded on the floor and later died at a hospital. Jones and Burns-Cross, prosecutors said, returned to Indiana the next day. Early local reporting in March 2023 described police arriving at the Walters Drive home and finding Williams suffering from a gunshot wound. At first, no suspect was in custody. Burns-Cross was later arrested and charged in July 2023. Jones remained out of Michigan prosecutors’ hands until September 2024, when authorities arrested him as he was being released from prison in Illinois on an unrelated case. The state could use that timeline to reinforce the seriousness of the homicide inquiry, though flight alone does not decide guilt. Here, it operated as part of a larger pattern the prosecution asked jurors to see.
Witness testimony did especially heavy work. Burns-Cross testified for the prosecution even though she also faced charges, including first-degree murder. Public summaries say she did so without a plea deal in place. Her role made her both a key witness and a subject of continuing legal interest. Prosecutors used her testimony to place Jones at the scene, explain the argument that preceded the killing and describe the moment shots were fired. Some readers may see an obvious weakness in relying on testimony from a charged co-defendant, but the state did not rely on her alone. It paired her account with the physical evidence, the travel history and the undisputed fact of Williams’ death inside the duplex. Public reports available here do not provide a full itemized defense strategy, so some challenges raised at trial are not visible in summary form.
The sentencing hearing showed how prosecutors’ narrative had carried through to the end of the trial court proceedings. On March 25, 2026, Borrello sentenced Jones to life without parole and also imposed three consecutive two-year firearm terms plus a $1,218 fine. Jones answered with a short statement: “I’m cool, man. It is what it is.” Williams’ mother, Shontele Lockett, told the court Jones had shown no remorse and should receive the maximum sentence. In practical terms, the sentence cemented the jury’s finding that the state had proved first-degree premeditated murder. In human terms, it drew one of the few public emotional reactions in the case, with applause breaking out in the courtroom after the sentence was announced.
The evidence picture may expand again when Burns-Cross’s case moves further. For now, the public record supports a prosecution story built around digital contact, witness testimony, ballistic evidence and the sequence of events before and after the shooting. Jones’ conviction has fixed the court’s answer to the main question of who fired the shots. The remaining legal question is whether any further proceedings will change how much the public knows about who set the deadly meeting in motion and how deliberately it was arranged.
Author note: Last updated April 17, 2026.