@meghannmcuniff: A man in Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced Friday to 35 to 60 years in prison for killing two people in separate incidents one year apart. Desmond Burks' lawyers apologized on his behalf, but Burke said he's innocent despite his guilty pleas to guilty to manslaughter and second-degree murder. "My name is Desmond Burks. I like to say I'm not a murderer, and I'm not a killer. A regular person like everybody in this room. I'm not gay as the prosecutor want me to be. Not a gang member," Burks said. "About the doctor stuff? Just because I took the plea don’t mean I did it. I’m tired of people saying that I’m some gay killer or a gay person and a gang member in the same breath. That doesn’t even make sense. It’s impossible," he continued. The judge disagreed. “All I have to say is, quite frankly, you are a murderer, sir,” said Judge Paul J. Cusick in Michigan's 3rd Circuit Court. Cusick apologized to the family of murder victim Devon Hoover, a prominent Detroit neurosurgeon who sometimes paid Burks for romantic trysts. He also apologized to the family of Reda Saleh, 67, whom Burks punched during a road rage incident in April 2024. Saleh died a month later. "I want to thank everyone who spoke. My heart goes out and my condolences goes out to everybody involved, all the victims. And oftentimes in these cases, the one thing I don't want is for the victims, Mr. Saleh and Devon Hoover to be forgotten," Judge Cusick said. The judge commended the statements given by the victims' family members as "some of the most profound, forgiving statements that this court has ever heard." He also called them "a far cry from the dichotomy that we've seen on the other side, quite frankly, and the smirks and the rolling of the eyes, making this a circus." "All I have to say is, quite frankly, you are a murderer, sir. You are a killer. You pled under oath to that, and that's your sentence," Cusick told Burks. Police found Hoover, 53, dead in his home in Detroit's Boston-Edison Historic District on April 23, 2023, after he didn't visit his dying mother in Indiana as planned. He'd been shot twice in his head, and his body was wrapped in carpet and hidden in his attic. His cell phone and wallet were missing, as were credit cards, cash and expensive Cartier watches. Investigators identified Burks as a person of interest after Hoover's cell phone records "revealed that Dr. Hoover had approximately 4,000 communications with a number attributed to Desmond Burks who resided in the 9900 block of Sussex in the City of Detroit," according to a press release from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. "The text messages establish that Desmond Burks and Dr. Hoover were in an intimate relationship with one another and on occasion Desmond Burks would charge Dr. Hoover for sexual services. The investigation was further complicated by the fact that many witnesses were reluctant to come forward to share sensitive and personal information," according to the release. Burks was charged with Hoover's murder in August 2024 while already in jail for Saleh's death. Investigators gathered 300 pieces of evidence through 134 search warrants in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Texas and California as well England and France. Police found Hoover’s Ballon Bleu Cartier watch in a home connected to Burks. They found Hoover's Pasha Cartier watch, which he bought the day before he was murdered, at another home linked to Burks. Burks, 35, pleaded guilty on Jan. 21 to manslaughter for Saleh's death and second-degree murder for killing Hoover. Prosecutors dismissed a first-degree premeditated murder charge. Judge Cusick sentenced him on Friday to 35 to 60 years for second-degree murder and 10 to 15 years for manslaughter. The sentences are concurrent, meaning he'll serve them at the same time. #law #crime #court #judge

Meghann Cuniff

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Saturday 21 February 2026 20:07:45 GMT