Jan. 16--A 26-year-old Detroit man living in New Orleans is accused of killing his friend after making himself the beneficiary of two $250,000 life insurance policies.

After a nearly two-year investigation, police arrested David Stann on Tuesday in New Orleans in the shooting death of 19-year-old Gary Jones of Detroit.

Stann is charged with first-degree murder and other felonies in connection with Jones'' death on March 25, 2007. He is expected to be returned to Detroit and arraigned early next week.

Detroit Deputy Police Chief Marshall Lyons said Stann, who knew Jones for seven years, convinced him they could make money if he took out the life insurance policies and made Stann the beneficiary. About 14 months later, police said, Stann shot and killed Jones and collected on one of the policies.

Jones'' mother, Carolyn Jones, 41, said that shortly after her son''s funeral, someone showed her life insurance paperwork in her son''s name. She became suspicious and turned the information over to Detroit police.





Although police are still investigating what Stann allegedly told Gary Jones, Lyons said police suspect Stann ran the same insurance scheme with other victims, who later canceled the policies.

Carolyn Jones met with the news media Thursday at police headquarters, where she thanked detectives from the homicide cold-case squad for staying on the case.

Jones'' 17-year-old daughter, Yolanda Montgomery, was murdered in August 2007, and police solved the case.

"I just thank God that it all came to justice," she said. "I would ask the public, if you know of any homicide ... to reveal it, call a detective, let them know. The little information that you know may be the information that solves the case."

She said she''s still stunned about the accusations against Stann.

"He used to call me ''auntie,'' " she said. "My son was a kind, respectable young man. He didn''t deserve to die the way he did."

Contact BEN SCHMITT at 313-223-4296 or bcschmitt@freepress.com.



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