Gunfire tore through the front door of an apartment on the 30 block of Candlelite Lane in Pontiac on Tuesday night, killing 39-year-old Jethro Jackson Jr. and wounding a 39-year-old neighbor who was struck in the hand. Deputies say the shattered storm door and bullet holes in the apartment entrance told the story before investigators even stepped inside — a scene of sudden, close-range violence at a complex that has seen more than its share of it.
Oakland County Sheriff's deputies and Star EMS responded to the address late Tuesday after multiple gunshots were reported fired at the North Hill Farms apartment complex, according to sheriff's office information relayed by The Oakland Press. Lifesaving measures were administered at the scene, but Jackson, who had sustained a gunshot wound to the upper torso, was pronounced dead after being transported to McLaren Oakland Hospital. The 39-year-old Pontiac man who was wounded in the hand was treated at the same hospital and later released.
Deputies recovered multiple spent shell casings outside the residence, per the sheriff's office, and an autopsy has been scheduled for Jackson. Investigators have not said whether the gunfire was aimed specifically at Jackson or connected to some broader dispute at the complex — the motive and the identity of the shooter remain open questions.
A Complex With a Violent Recent History
North Hill Farms has been the site of repeated bloodshed in recent years. 7 News Detroit reported in May 2024 that the complex had seen six homicides over a two-year span, a pattern that fueled resident frustration over persistent violence at the property. That same spring, a late-night triple shooting in the complex's parking lot killed 24-year-old Rayjon Tyree Barnes and wounded two other men, according to ClickOnDetroit.
A separate shooting inside North Hill Farms on Fireside Lane, also in April 2024, left a 20-year-old man paralyzed from a gunshot wound to the neck and injured a 19-year-old woman, according to the Oakland County Times. That case led to multiple felony attempted-murder charges against a 19-year-old suspect. The recurring violence at the property, along with two other apartment complexes, prompted the Pontiac City Council to authorize funding for Flock Safety Raven acoustic gunshot-detection technology, aimed at speeding up law enforcement response times, according to city records.
Federal Money and County Policing
North Hill Farms II, the HUD Section 8 subsidized-housing complex tied to the property, received a $10 million Green and Resilient Retrofit Program grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in September 2024 for structural and energy upgrades tied to developer American Community Developers. It's a notable federal investment in a property that has also drawn repeated attention from law enforcement.
Pontiac has relied on the Oakland County Sheriff's Office for policing since 2011, when the city dissolved its own police department amid severe budget deficits, according to Michigan Public. That arrangement is why county deputies, rather than a city force, responded to and are investigating Tuesday's homicide.
A Citywide Drop, But Not Everywhere
The killing comes even as sheriff's office data reported by FOX 2 Detroit in June 2025 showed a striking citywide decline in violence, with homicides dropping from 15 in 2021 to just one recorded through early June of that year. OpenCrime data put Pontiac's 2024 homicide count at 13, with a violent crime rate of 984.7 per 100,000 residents. North Hill Farms, however, has remained a persistent hot spot even as the broader trend has improved.
Jackson's death also follows another recent act of gun violence in the city. Just days earlier, a 23-year-old man was fatally shot during a roughly 100-person block party on Mariva Street on July 25, a case that led to the arrest of a licensed concealed-pistol holder, as Hoodline previously reported.
Anyone with information about Tuesday's shooting is asked to call the Oakland County Sheriff's Office at 248-858-4950. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers of Michigan at 1-800-SPEAK-UP, which pays rewards of up to $2,500 for information leading to an arrest in homicide cases.
