ALLEGAN COUNTY, Mich. — Malcolm Dotson has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his half-brother Damon Sheldon, according to the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department.
Dotson earlier confessed to killing Sheldonand burying him in a shallow grave in their back yard. The fatal shooting happened April 10 in the 1100 block of 26th Street in Trowbridge Township.
In an interview with police, Dotson told detectives he was upset with his half-brother on the night of the shooting. Dotson said he was not able to sleep in the same residence on the property with his brother that night; he said he was forced to sleep in the other home that was full of garbage and had no power.
Dotson told police, according to court documents, that he went to the home where his half-brother was staying and shot Sheldon in the head. Dotson said he wrapped Sheldon in a blanket, then dragged him over to a sandy area in their back yard where a hole was already started.
Dotson and Sheldon’s mother called police after she saw a puddle of blood inside a trailer on the property. Police later found Dotson asleep inside another home on the property with a 17-caliber rifle.
Sheldon had a criminal past the included a charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, abuse of a person under the age of 13, back in 1995. Family members and documents obtained by FOX 17 confirmed that Dotson was the victim in that case.
