Metro Detroit man sentenced in fatal shooting at Warren gas station

A Hazel Park man convicted in a December 2024 fatal shooting at a Warren gas station will spend the rest of his life in prison, prosecutors said. 

Al Curtis Williams, 47, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

Macomb County prosecutors say Williams got into a verbal dispute with Brandon Zaner, 38, of Utica, inside a Shell gas station on Dequindre Road and 9 Mile Road in Warren on Dec. 21, 2024. 

After Williams left the gas station, prosecutors say he returned to the area and confronted Zaner in a nearby parking lot. Williams and Zaner got into another argument, authorities said, and Williams fired one shot with a handgun, striking Zaner in the chest. 

Zaner was taken to a local hospital, where he later died. 

Williams was convicted in February after a four-day trial in Macomb County Circuit Court of first-degree murder, carrying a concealed weapon and felony firearm.

"The sentencing today brings these proceedings to a close. The defendant will spend the remainder of his life in prison. While no sentence can undo the harm that was done, it is my hope that today provides some measure of closure for the family of Brandon Zaner. Their loss is profound, and it is one they will carry with them always," said Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido in a statement. 

The above video originally aired on Dec. 24, 2024.