Texas man accused of double murder at Star Auto Sales in Shelby Township over car sale dispute

SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX 2) – A dispute over a vehicle sale at Star Auto Sales in Shelby Township allegedly led to a Texas man murdering two people, including the owner, inside the business last week.

On Friday, another employee went to the business on Ryan Road and found Star Auto Sales owner Marvan Batoo, 40, of Shelby Township, and Ghaith Baban, 48, of Clinton Township, dead from gunshot wounds. That employee called police to report the murders, and also told authorities that a customer, Terrance Jermaine Sandles, 46, of Houston, recently had a dispute with the business over a vehicle sale.

Police said Sandles has an open arrest warrant from the Houston area, and police believe he was in Michigan after fleeing Texas.

Sandles was charged with robbery, in addition to other felonies, for killing Batoo and Baban, but Shelby Township Police Chief Robert Shelide said the suspect did not go to the business to rob it.

He didn’t go in to rob, and this was no hit. He went in to kill that man, to kill the owner,” he said, adding that Baban appeared to have only been shot because he happened to be at Star when Sandles showed up.

Dig deeper:

According to Shelide, investigators learned that Sandles had recently purchased a Hummer from Star Auto Sales for around $3,000. A few weeks prior to the murders, he allegedly went to the business and had an argument about the vehicle before leaving it at the dealership.

At the time of the murders, Sandles was driving a vehicle rented through Turo, an app that allows people to rent vehicles from private citizens. Because of this, police initially thought the registered owner of that vehicle was the suspect. However, after talking to that person, police learned that the vehicle had been rented to Sandles, and used this information to track him to a hotel in Romulus.

Sandles was arrested during a raid of his room early Saturday.

The prosecutor’s office said authorities found evidence linking Sandles, including a gun and cash, to the crime, as well as a large amount of cocaine.

What’s next:

Sandles has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, armed robbery, delivering or manufacturing a controlled substance, and several weapons offenses. He is charged as a habitual offender.

He was remanded to the Macomb County Jail, where he will remain until his next court hearing on Nov. 24.