By Paul Thompson
Northeast News

Michael T. Lomax has been charged with 2nd Degree Murder, Armed Criminal Action and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm in the November 2016 slaying of 34-year-old Dustin Harris.

Lomax, 48, stands accused of fatally shooting Harris in the 3500 block of Lexington after a failed meth deal. Two witnesses in the case told homicide detectives that they had set up the drug purchase between the victim and the suspect, known as “OG”, who Witness #1 and Witness #2 met at a recycling center the day prior.

At around 5 p.m. on November 1, 2016, OG arrived at a residence on Lexington Ave. in a white Ford pickup truck. The victim then arrived with a third witness in a white truck, and all five individuals walked into a basement bedroom to initiate the drug purchase.

Though Witness #1 told authorities she did not hear what words were exchanged, she recalled seeing OG reach out with money in his right hand. Shortly thereafter, she saw OG take his hand out of his left pocket. The action was followed by a loud bang, after which the victim yelled that he had been shot. Witness #1 then told police that the victim and suspect began scuffling, and that the suspect made an attempt to take the drugs from the victim’s hands. After the scuffle, the victim was left lying unresponsive in the interior staircase. Witness #1 waited for police, but OG, Witness #2 and Witness #3 fled the scene.

Detectives later interviewed Witness #2, who admitted that she helped set up the drug deal, and that she was present for the homicide. In Witness #2’s account, the scuffle began when the suspect tried to grab the meth from the victim’s hands. After a brief struggle, Witness #2 said that she heard a pop when the two men entered the stairwell. The victim then returned to the basement, clutching his chest and saying he’d been shot.

Detectives then interviewed Witness #3, who acknowledged she was the one who drove the victim to the drug deal. Witness #3 said that she had never seen OG before, but described him as a “very clean cut” black male between 40 and 50 years old who was wearing dark clothing. She described seeing gold rings on OG’s right hand, but said that she couldn’t see his left hand because it was in his pocket. Eventually, Witness #3 remembers “a raucous going on,” followed by the suspect chasing Harris into the stairwell. Once they were on the stairs, Witness #3 heard a gunshot. The suspect fled, and the victim returned to the basement with a visible wound.

In the course of the investigation, detectives were able to confirm that the Witness #1 and Witness #2 had indeed met Lomax the day before the crime at Langley Recycling. Through the recycling center, authorities managed to find an address for Michael T. Lomax at the 5700 block of Agnes. A police database search revealed a second address for Lomax at the 6700 block of Agnes.

Additionally, authorities were able to obtain cell phone records of a device used that day by Witness #2 – the phone was given to her by Witness #1 – through a court order. Those records revealed incoming and outgoing calls to a specific 913 number on the date of November 1, 2016 – and only on that date. Police found a connection between that 913 number and Michael T. Lomax.

In a photo lineup prepared by police in January 2017, Witness #1 was able to identify Lomax. However, Witness #2 and Witness #3 were unable to do so. Nevertheless, Lomax was eventually arrested on January 30, 2017, while driving a white Ford pickup truck. He signed the Miranda waiver and spoke with detectives, admitting to meeting a white female at Langley Recycling at the end of October. Lomax also admitted to using illegal drugs during the conversation, though he denied killing anyone or having been at the 3500 block of Lexington Ave. on November 1, 2016. While Lomax acknowledged calling Witness #1 after meeting her at Langley Recycling, he said that never met up with her following the phone calls.

After conducting cell phone mapping for the 913 phone number used to call Witness #1, it was revealed that the phone in question was in the immediate area of the homicide around the time of the homicide. According to the probable cause statement, the phone number “appears to be in communication with the tower which is the closest to the crime scene just prior to the homicide.”

Prosecutors have requested a bond of $250,000.