Police: Victim was fatally shot by co-worker after fight about job performance

“They worked together there on the line,” said Ypsilanti police Sgt. Thomas Eberts, who characterized the shooting as work-related. “It was an issue of job performance.”

The victim, Bhagavan Yashura Allen, and the suspect, a 34-year-old Ypsilanti Township man, reportedly got into a physical altercation at Marsh Plating Corp., located at 103 North Grove Street at the corner of East Michigan Avenue, at some point before the 4 p.m. shooting, police said.

The 34-year-old suspect ran the assembly line and may have questioned Allen's work ethic, Eberts said. It is unknown if the suspect was Allen’s immediate supervisor. Representatives of Marsh Plating Corp. declined to comment when contacted by AnnArbor.com.

The two men didn’t allow the fight to escalate inside the plant because both were worried about it costing them their jobs, Eberts said. Instead, they decided to go someplace neutral after work to settle their dispute.

The shooting occurred a few blocks down South Grove Street, within sight of the plant. Eberts said after work, both men walked south on opposite sides of the street exchanging threatening words. Allen crossed the street as the men approached the South Street intersection. He might have been expecting a continuation of the wrestling-type of physical contact the two were engagedin at the plant, police said.

“I don’t think he knew he had a gun,” Eberts said. “The shooting happened immediately.”

The 34-year-old suspect allegedly stepped between a tree and a fence to pull a .45 caliber handgun and fire two shots at Allen, which knocked him to the ground in the bike lane of the street. The suspect then allegedly stood over Allen’s fallen body and shot three or four more rounds at him, police said.

The suspect then fled on foot back toward Marsh Plating. A Belleville man working nearby at the time of the shooting followed the fleeing suspect to that area after hearing the gunshots. He told AnnArbor.com he last saw the suspect near the plant before police arrived and put the Belleville man into a patrol car for his own safety. Sheriff's officers used a dog to search Marsh Plating but lost the track by a nearby railroad.

Police responding to the shooting scene found Allen suffering from numerous gunshot wounds, including one to the neck and more to the torso. Huron Valley Ambulance transported him to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, but Allen died on the way. Police are awaiting autopsy results to determine just how many times he was shot.

In the meantime, police continue to search for the suspect. They are not releasing his name or picture at this time, Eberts said.

Police said both men had a history of criminal activity.

According to the company website, Marsh Plating and Finishing Services, a metal plating operation and a related finishing company, employs more than 150 people and has annual sales in excess of $10 million.

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