Detroit man sentenced for shooting 24 rounds into home where his six-year-old daughter slept

DETROIT – Jevonte Cassidy Doakes, 33, of Detroit, Michigan, who shot into his ex-girlfriend’s home in May 2024 while his own child was sleeping inside, was sentenced yesterday to 110 months in federal prison on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. announced. Gorgon was joined in the announcement by James Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Detroit Field Division and Chief Todd Bettison, Detroit Police Department. In May 2024, Doakes fired 24 shots into his ex-girlfriend’s home where she and her family, including his own six-year-old daughter, slept. One bullet struck a closet door in the child’s bedroom. Another went through a couch beside where other children slept. A few hours after the shooting, Doakes called his ex-girlfriend, saying, “Bitch, you still alive?” before hanging up. Fired casings from the May 2024 shooting matched other recent shootings, including a felonious assault in River Rouge, so the ATF began investigating Doakes. Agents executed search warrants at Doakes’s house and the flop house next door where Doakes kept some of his guns. Agents found 7 guns, including two machineguns between the two houses. One of the machineguns matched the fired casings from the May 2024 shooting into Doakes’s ex-girlfriend’s house. Doakes and another man, Joshua Griggs, 21 of Detroit, were arrested. Griggs, who was caught on video holding another gun at the house while on probation, was sentenced to 24 months prison in August 2025 for receipt of a firearm while under indictment. “These are the acts of a crooked man who loves violence and hates innocent life. I am thankful for our strong alliance with our federal and Detroit Police partners. This is how we keep our city safe,” said U.S. Attorney Gorgon. “Javonte DOAKES is the one of the most deserving candidates for federal prison. Using an illegal machine, he recklessly fired 24 rounds into a home full of sleeping children, one of whom was his daughter. These types of acts of gun violence have consequences,” said James Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Detroit Field Division. “Calling the mother of his child afterward asking if she survived only highlights DOAKES’ complete and utter disregard for human life. ATF will continue working with our partners to identify prolific shooters in the community and hold them accountable for their acts by helping them pack their bags for an extended stay in federal prison.”