By Teddy White
We learned a lot about state violence on the last day of July 2026.
That morning, Alonzo Lee‑Perkins – an 18‑year‑old father – walked into 36th District Court for his preliminary examination. He wore a suit, not a hoodie. Still recovering from three gunshot wounds, he’d clutch his arm still in pain. And he sat across from a system that shot him in the back and now wants to lock him up for surviving.
“The People versus Alonzo Lee‑Perkins” continued in a procedural way. But make no mistake: this was never a fair fight. The City of Detroit, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, and the 36th District Court Apparatus were lined up against a young Black father whose only true crime is being a Black male teenager in post‑industrial Detroit.
What Happened in Court
The preliminary examination was supposed to determine whether the prosecution had enough evidence—probable cause—to send Alonzo’s case to trial. The bar is low. Yet even at this early stage, the cracks in the state’s case were visible.
Defense Attorney Allison Kriger made a powerful argument: the evidence the prosecution presented was obtained through an unlawful search and seizure. The gun that Alonzo is charged with possessing, she argued, only appeared after he had already been shot three times and was lying bleeding in a parking lot off Cadillac Square. There was no probable cause to initiate the stop. No warrant. Just a hunch that a Black teenager in a hoodie might have a weapon.
The video evidence – shown publicly for the first time that day – shows Alonzo with his back to an officer, running away, before he falls to the ground. His attorney said the video does not show anything in his hand or him pointing anything at police. What it does show is a young man fleeing for his life and being shot in the back.
The shooter, Officer David Gonzales, pleaded the Fifth Amendment during the preliminary exam. He refused to answer questions. A slick‑haired, tattooed young man himself, Gonzales had the nerve to shoot Alonzo during a celebratory city event, based on nothing more than a hunch that Alonzo had a gun.
Gonzales’s partner, Joseph Wafer, testified that he never saw a firearm. He thought Alonzo might have been holding something near his waistband—but it could have been a phone, a wallet, or just the fabric of his hoodie. He never saw the actual object.
“Did you see a firearm, when you viewed him with your own eyes?” Kriger asked Wafer. He said he didn’t.
“So what you are indicating is that you didn’t see his hands grabbing on to anything, right?” Kriger continued.
“I didn’t see the actual object,” Wafer responded.
A System Guilty as Hell
The proceedings showed a system desperate to avoid accountability.
The most damning aspect? While Alonzo was still chained to his hospital bed, recovering from being shot in the back, Michigan State Police conducted an interrogation. The state collected a statement from a young man in critical condition, attempting to secure an admission of guilt before he even had a lawyer.
The collegial nature of interactions between the Wayne County Prosecutor, Judge Chastity Youngblood, court officers, and the Detroit Police Department revealed something ugly. They smiled. They chatted. They treated this as routine business. They think they are “the people,” enacting some form of perverse violence on Alonzo and his family.
They don’t see the tears. They don’t see the recovery. They don’t see the late nights trying to find ways to survive this.
Their smiles juxtapose Alonzo and his family’s pain.
The Root Cause: Over‑Policing of Black Youth
The over‑policing of Black youth is the root cause here. This case is not an anomaly. It is the logical outcome of a system that treats Black teenagers as threats and then criminalizes them when they survive.
Consider the pattern:
- In the weeks after the shooting, Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison and the union launched a coordinated attack on civilian oversight. Board of Police Commissioners members who visited Alonzo in the hospital were accused of “obstruction of justice” – simply for checking on a wounded teenager.
- The police union has sued the city to block the release of body camera footage, winning a temporary injunction that has halted public release of all police shooting videos since January.
- The same week as Alonzo’s hearing, another report detailed how the city’s “teen takeover” panic revived the racist “superpredator” myth from the 1990s – a media playbook that has always been used to justify harsh crackdowns on Black youth.
As civil rights lawyer Alec Karakatsanis put it: stories like these “end up creating a fearful public” and make it easier to justify dropping the criminal punishment hammer on the heads of the city’s youth.
Where We Go from Here
Alonzo’s case was bound over for trial – the judge found the prosecution met the low probable cause standard. But this fight is far from over.
We are going to beat this. Not just because Gonzales and his Gang Intel unit were wrong. Not just because the facts show this is a witch hunt of a young Black male. But because Alonzo has a community behind him.
Without your support, attention, and care, this would go on unimpeded. The system would swallow another Black teenager and call it justice.
How You Can Support Alonzo
1. Donate to the Legal Defense & Family Support Fund
Every dollar goes toward legal fees, family support (transportation, lost wages, basic needs), and community advocacy.
👉 Donate here: On Support Now
2. Offer Non‑Monetary Support
If you can offer transportation, meals, childcare, therapy, legal support, or anything else, fill out this secure form and organizers will connect you with Alonzo and his family.
👉 Offer support here: Justice for Alonzo Community Support Form
3. Stay Connected
- Follow @byp100_detroit for updates
- Join the Justice for Alonzo Signal Announcement Chat
- Subscribe to Lemme Break It Down for ongoing coverage
- Come to the next court hearing on August 14 at the Wayne County Criminal Justice Center, 5301 Russell Street, Detroit, MI 48211.
4. Demand Accountability
Call Mayor Sheffield, Chief Bettison, and City Council. Demand:
- Release of all body camera footage
- Dropping of all charges against Alonzo
- Firing and prosecution of Officer Gonzales
- Transparency, not cover‑ups
A Final Word
As a Police Industrial Complex abolitionist, it’s clear to me that this case continues to show the need for non‑reformist reforms – community control of policing and safety, the shutting down of all prisons and jails, and restorative justice.
The people are on Alonzo’s side. The system is not.
Justice for Alonzo is justice for all of us.
We will not look away.
