OAKLAND COUNTY NEWS BRIEFS: Troy -- Hearing in hotel

A Detroit woman who pleaded guilty last week in connection with the fatal shooting of a Troy hotel clerk is expected to testify this morning against three men who allegedly carried out the shooting.

Shirley Ann Haywood, 36, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed robbery in Oakland County Circuit Court before Judge Steven Andrews. She faces 15 to 25 years or life in prison if convicted.

The Sept. 2 robbery at the Troy Holiday Inn ended in the death of clerk Michelle Eberhard, 35, of Redford Township. A hotel guest, Rachel Joost, 28, of Cedar Park, Texas, was also shot but survived.

The three men charged in the case -- all of whom are related to Haywood -- are Thomas Ralph Jackson, 24, and Brandon Justin Burns-Perry, 17, both of Detroit, and John Andrew Spratt Jr., 30, Oak Park. Among the charges against the men, who have preliminary hearings today in Troy, are first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter and armed robbery. By Lori Higgins

HAZEL PARK
Man, 39, shot after walking in on robbery
A man was shot to death late Tuesday after he walked into Tenny Plumbing Co. during a robbery, police said.

Hazel Park police Lt. David Nabozny identified the man only as a 39-year-old customer because his family had not been notified of his death.

Two company employees told police that two men entered the building, which is in the 1500 block of East 8 Mile, about 4:15 p.m. and locked them in a rest room, police said. The men fled with a safe after the shooting.

One of the men is described as black with a light complexion. He's 18 or 19 years old, about 6 feet tall, 170 pounds and was wearing a coat with a fur-lined hood, a skull cap and pants, all of which were black. The other suspect was black with a dark complexion. He is 16 or 17, wore a black coat, an earring in his left ear and had a faint goatee.