Testimony began Tuesday in the trial of two men charged in connection with the murder of Daniel Hutchinson, a well-known Oakland County jewelry store owner gunned down in 2022 at the age of 47.
Marco Bisbikis of Novi, Hutchinson’s attorney at the time, is accused of masterminding a murder-for-hire plan, allegedly carried out by co-defendant Roy Larry — while on a bicycle — who had hoped to be given a used Camaro as payment. Roy Larry, a Detroiter, had reportedly been recruited by his cousin, Darnell Larry, who was also charged in the case but opted out of trial with a guilty plea.
Among those called to the stand Tuesday was Sgt. Dwaine Green of the Oak Park Police Department, who gave testimony about what he found at the crime scene as well as photos from several security camera taken before, during and after Hutchinson was shot multiple times on June 1, 2022, outside the Pay Beny pawn shop on Greenfield Road while in his GMC Yukon Denali with his wife, Marisa Hutchinson. Daniel Hutchinson had recently purchased the shop, and also owned the nearby Hutch’s Jewelry.
Green told the jury that he arrived at the crime scene shortly after the 12:35 p.m. shooting was reported, to find other officers performing CPR on Hutchinson, on the ground outside his vehicle. The Denali, he said, was “riddled with bullets” on the driver’s side.
Green said he approached Marisa Hutchinson, who was still in the vehicle, crying.
“She was in an obvious state of shock…I got a blank stare from her,” Green said. “She told me she and her husband just left the pawn shop and were leaving the parking lot when a black male arrived on a bike and began firing shots into the vehicle.”
Photographic evidence
Photos presented in court as evidence show a man — allegedly Roy Larry — wearing a brown baseball cap and riding a bicycle moments earlier in an alley near the pawn shop, then making his way to the drive-thru of a Taco Bell next to the shop, holding gloves. As testified to by Green, another photo shows the man riding toward where the Hutchinsons were in their vehicle and, while on the sidewalk near them, reaching into his waistband. Armed with a handgun, he’s seen firing shots into the vehicle. A subsequent photo shows the handgun’s slide “locked back,” Green said, which indicates all the ammunition had been fired.
According to investigators, 14 spent cartridges were recovered from the scene. Green said the gloves and baseball cap matching those seen in the surveillance photos were found at the scene.
Darnell Larry was reportedly involved in renting the bicycle Roy Larry used for the shooting and then transporting the bike and Roy Larry close to the scene so he could kill Hutchinson.
Green said when he returned to the Oak Park police station later that day, he learned Roy Larry had been arrested less than an hour after the shooting. That evening, someone identifying himself as Roy Larry’s attorney showed up at the police station, which raised a “red flag” because police had not yet released Larry’s name and Larry hadn’t made any phone calls while in custody, Green said.
Bisbikis, who, like Roy Larry, faces first-degree homicide and multiple other charges, wasn’t arrested until November 2022. It’s alleged Bisbikis had drafted a will for the Hutchinsons for which he would benefit financially, and wanted them dead. During a preliminary exam last year, Darnell Larry testified that he was told the Hutchinsons were to be killed to stop them from testifying against Bisbikis in a federal case.
Two others have been criminally connected to the Hutchinson murder case but aren’t on trial: Angelo Raptoplous and Phillip Sumpter. Raptoplous, who reportedly worked for Bisbikis at his illegal marijuana farm in Jackson County, pleaded guilty in January to solicitation to commit murder. It’s alleged Raptoplous drew Darnell Larry into the murder-for-hire scheme, and Darnell Larry subsequently wanted out and got Roy Larry involved.
Sentencing hearings for Raptoplous and Darnell Larry are pending. The two are potential witnesses for the Marco Bisbikis/Roy Larry trial.
Sumpter was charged last November with conspiracy to murder for Hutchinson’s death. His case was bound over to Oakland County Circuit Court in April, and his next court appearance is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on May 29.
Testimony continues Wednesday morning. Judge Nanci Grant is presiding over the trial.