SAGINAW, MI — A Saginaw man who allegedly told his half-sister he had shot and killed his best friend as they drove to North Carolina has been found mentally fit to stand trial.
Saginaw County Chief Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson on Tuesday, Aug. 24, ruled 28-year-old Armond D. Gardner is psychologically competent to participate in future court proceedings.
Jackson based his ruling on a report from staff at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Ypsilanti. The judge had ordered Gardner sent to the center for an evaluation in March.
Gauging competency means determining if a defendant’s current mental or emotional state is fit enough for trial, to the extent he or she understands the charges against them and their constitutional rights.
Gardner is charged with single counts of open murder and felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of felony firearm-second offense in connection with the August 2020, shooting death of 34-year-old Tony D. Joshua. Open murder contains both first- and second-degree murder, both of which are life offenses, though a first-degree murder conviction comes with a mandatory sentence of life without parole.
Police found Joshua fatally wounded in a driveway at 2015 S. Washington Ave. around 6:10 a.m. on Aug. 8, 2020. Medical personnel pronounced Joshua deceased at 6:24 a.m.
In a January preliminary examination, Gardner’s half-sister Starsterria Moore testified via Zoom from her home in North Carolina that in the early morning of Aug. 9, 2020, she received a phone call from Gardner while she was in Augusta, Georgia.
“Armond called me between 4 and 5 (a.m.) and Armond said to me, ‘Hey sis, can you come and get me. I need to get away,’” Moore said “Armond said, ‘Some dudes are trying to get me. They trying to kill me. I’m in harm’s way.’ Armond said, ‘These dudes are trying to kill me. I need to get gone.’”
Moore in turn called an aunt in Cincinnati, who bought Gardner a bus ticket from Detroit to Cincinnati, she said. Moore and Gardner met up at their aunt’s house in Cincinnati on Aug. 11, she testified.
Gardner told Moore and his aunt that he had argued with his girlfriend at their residence, after which he went to a park, she testified. Gardner returned to his house where his girlfriend was arguing with Joshua over drugs and alcohol, Moore said. Gardner intervened in the dispute to calm down the participants, Moore said.
Joshua threatened to retrieve an assault rifle, shoot the house up, and kill Gardner and his girlfriend, Moore said her half-brother had told her. Joshua walked out of the house and Gardner shot him repeatedly in the back, Moore said Gardner told her.
The next day, Moore drove Gardner to North Carolina, she said.
“He just steady smoking cigarettes back-to-back,” Moore said. “You could tell he wasn’t hisself. Armond stated that he hated that he had to take his own friend out. He said the situation is crazy.”
On arriving in North Carolina, Gardner told the same story to his mother and her husband, Moore said.
Police arrested Gardner in Fayetteville, North Carolina, after which he was extradited back to Saginaw County and arraigned on Oct. 19.
Gardner’s next court date is pending.
Joshua is survived by a daughter, his father, several brothers and sisters, and numerous nieces and nephews. He graduated from Saginaw High School in 2004 and attended classes at Delta College, his obituary states.
“Tony loved to rap and he studied business in hopes of becoming his own boss in the music industry,” according to his obituary. “Tony was very loving and always happy. He never wanted to engage in any negative energy. He had a crazy sense of humor and loved to laugh and tell jokes that were often stale. More than anything, Tony loved his daughter and his family and he will truly be missed by those who loved him best.”
Read more:
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