A Wayne County jury found Michael Harris not guilty on all charges this month in connection with a chaotic brawl outside a Detroit bar that left one man dead and his younger brother fighting for his life. Harris had faced first-degree murder, felony firearm and resisting arrest charges tied to the shooting death of 28-year-old Jalen Stevens outside Chita's Nefertiti Bar on Grand River Avenue.
The verdict, handed down on October 1, closes out a case that began on January 4, when police were called to the bar over a reported stabbing, according to WDIV ClickOnDetroit. A shooting broke out during that same stabbing investigation, and Harris was arrested at the scene. Police believe a woman was responsible for the initial stabbing, though she has not been identified or charged, per the same account.
A Brawl That Turned Deadly in Seconds
Family members told WDIV ClickOnDetroit that Jalen Stevens and his younger brother, Glen Stevens, were innocent bystanders caught in the middle of a brawl that night, and that Jalen had gone to the bar to celebrate a recent job promotion. According to WXYZ-TV, the family said the violence erupted when bouncers tried to stop people from entering the bar, prompting someone to spray mace and shove the brothers as they were walking outside.
Glen Stevens was stabbed multiple times during the melee, and WXYZ-TV reported he suffered 14 stab wounds and a collapsed lung, leaving him hospitalized in critical condition. Jalen Stevens, who worked at a security company, was shot during the attack. The station also reported he was robbed of his glasses and personal jewelry before he was shot to death on the sidewalk.
Community Grief Spilled Into the Street
Two days after the shooting, hundreds of family members and community supporters gathered outside Chita's Nefertiti Bar for a public balloon release memorial honoring Jalen Stevens, as CBS News Detroit reported at the time. The outpouring reflected how deeply the killing shook the west side neighborhood around the bar.
In the aftermath, management for Chita's Nefertiti Bar issued a public statement saying the establishment had “never condoned, supported, or stood for violence of any kind” and remained rooted in community and family, according to the same WDIV ClickOnDetroit report. The victim's mother had publicly criticized the bar's security presence and its response during the emergency, though the bar's statement did not directly address those complaints.
Chita's Nefertiti Bar & Grill has deep roots on Detroit's west side. BLAC Magazine reported that the bar, located at 15942 West Grand River Avenue, was founded in 1994 by Conchita Leigh and has been run since 2013 by her granddaughter, Domonique Bowen, making it a decades-old neighborhood fixture at the center of this case.
Why Prosecutors Couldn't Clear the Bar for Conviction
The case underscores the gap between an initial arrest and what prosecutors must ultimately prove at trial. Under Michigan's Self-Defense Act, codified at MCL 780.972, a person not engaged in a crime may use deadly force with no duty to retreat anywhere they have a legal right to be, if they reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, according to the Neumann Law Group. Once a defendant introduces evidence supporting self-defense, prosecutors carry the burden of disproving it beyond a reasonable doubt.
That standard matters because the stakes in a first-degree murder case are severe. Under Michigan Compiled Laws MCL 750.316, a conviction for first-degree premeditated murder carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, the Neumann Law Group notes. Harris faced exactly that exposure before the jury's acquittal on all counts.
Chita's Nefertiti Bar falls within the jurisdiction of the Detroit Police Department's 2nd Precinct, according to city municipal records, placing the investigation and the officers first dispatched to the stabbing call under that precinct's authority. Whether the unidentified woman police believe sparked the initial stabbing will ever be identified remains an open question, as does whether the Stevens family will pursue any civil action against the bar over its security measures that night.
