FBI raids Dearborn home in connection to 2021 armed assault at Westland bowling alley
Federal investigators, SWAT, and Dearborn police were active early Tuesday morning, serving an arrest warrant near the corner of Queen and Oxford streets in connection with an armed assault in 2021.
Authorities lit the neighborhood with flashbang grenades, arresting one person. The U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed that the raid stemmed from an altercation in April 2021 at a Westland bowling alley. Gregory Powell, 44, was charged in a criminal complaint filed last week with one count of felon in possession of ammunition.
The address where the arrest warrant was conducted was listed under one of Powell's close relatives.
Those who live nearby say it was a scary sight to wake up to in the neighborhood on the west side of the city. One neighbor said it sounded like gunfire around 6 a.m. as law enforcement used flashbang grenades to make their way inside this home.
Drew Whiteley captured video of the moment a man, who federal prosecutors confirmed was Powell, exited the home and gave himself up to police.
"They were approaching the house across the street, told them to come out with their hands up; they, the FBI, had a warrant to search the property. I guess two people walked to the front door, they put them in the van," said Whiteley.
According to the complaint, Powell was allegedly involved in a fight with another person at a Westland bowling alley when the victim was shot. Powell fled the location but was later identified through surveillance video from the bowling alley. The FBI matched shell casings found at the scene to the rounds fired from the gun, according to the complaint.
When questioned in April 2021, Powell allegedly told investigators that there was an altercation at the location involving another party when one of the men began approaching him. Powell said he grabbed a gun from his girlfriend's purse that he put in there without her knowing and admitted to firing the gun, according to the complaint.
Authorities say there's no longer any concern for public safety.