A late‑January burst of gunfire outside Detroit's Pizza Cat has landed a 28‑year‑old man in federal court. A grand jury has indicted Albert Egnis on a single count of being a felon in possession of ammunition in connection with a Jan. 31 shooting outside the restaurant. Surveillance video and investigators' accounts say a man pointed a handgun at people on the sidewalk and fired while backing toward a white Chevrolet Malibu, and officers recovered about 25 spent 9mm casings at the scene. Investigators also report that ballistics link the same firearm to a Jan. 10 shooting in Sterling Heights that wounded multiple people. Egnis previously picked up a federal firearms conviction in 2022.
Court records show the federal indictment was returned on March 11, with Egnis arraigned on March 16. A final pretrial conference is set for May 6. According to ClickOnDetroit, the one‑count indictment accuses Egnis of possessing ammunition as a convicted felon after investigators concluded the rounds were manufactured outside Michigan. The indictment follows a criminal complaint filed after federal agents and local detectives reviewed surveillance footage and other evidence tied to the Pizza Cat shooting.
Federal filings show Egnis pleaded guilty in 2022 to firearms‑related charges and was sentenced to two years in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to court records at Justia. Those documents list him as Albert James Shelby‑Journey‑Egnis in federal court papers. Wayne County booking logs also list an Albert Egnis, a record that lines up with continued local criminal‑justice processing of the same defendant (Wayne County Sheriff Inmate Inquiry).
What investigators say
According to ClickOnDetroit, an ATF special agent assigned to the Detroit Field Division and the Pontiac Gun Violence Task Force said he immediately recognized Egnis while reviewing surveillance video from the Jan. 31 incident. In a sworn statement, the agent wrote that he "reviewed the surveillance footage and... I recognized Egnis as one of the shooters," and described watching Egnis lift his shirt, pull a handgun and open fire while moving toward a white Chevrolet Malibu. Investigators further say the firearm used outside Pizza Cat is ballistically linked to the Jan. 10 Sterling Heights shooting, and that roughly 25 spent 9mm casings were recovered outside the Detroit business.
Court calendar and legal notes
The federal case zeroes in on ammunition possession by someone previously convicted of a felony, a charge prosecutors typically bring when they conclude the ammunition traveled in interstate commerce. Convictions under federal firearms statutes can carry prison terms of up to 10 years, according to data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Egnis remains in custody while he awaits his next federal court appearance.
