Records show the 46-year-old cut off his ankle monitor and left Houston before two men were shot dead at a Shelby Township dealership.
HOUSTON, Texas — A Houston man now charged in a Michigan double homicide failed to appear in Harris County court in late August and was accused of removing his GPS ankle monitor weeks earlier, according to records and police statements. Terrance Jermaine Sandles, 46, was arrested Nov. 8 at a hotel near Detroit Metro Airport and is being held without bond.
Authorities in Michigan and Texas say the case ties an open Houston bond violation to a deadly shooting at a small car dealership north of Detroit. Prosecutors in Macomb County have charged Sandles with more than a dozen felonies, including two counts of first-degree murder. Investigators say an argument over a $3,000 Hummer sale preceded the shooting. The victims were found Nov. 7 at Star Auto Sales in Shelby Township as officers began a homicide probe that quickly crossed state lines.
Police said the killings happened Friday, Nov. 7, inside the dealership office on Ryan Road. Surveillance video captured a man wearing a mask entering the office and firing at point-blank range before leaving on foot and then driving away, investigators said. The victims were identified as owner Marvan Batoo, 40, of Shelby Township, and customer Ghaith Baban, 48, of Clinton Township. An employee returning from an errand found the men and called for help around 12:28 p.m. “He bought a vehicle from Star Auto Sales and they had a dispute. He thought it was a lemon,” Shelby Township Police Chief Robert Shelide said. Three weeks earlier, police said, the same man argued and made threats at the business over the Hummer.
Detectives traced the suspect using surveillance footage and automated license-plate readers, which flagged a rental vehicle. The registered plate led investigators to a Turo rental, and hotel video in Romulus, Mich., showed a man arriving about an hour after the shooting in clothing matching the suspect’s. Officers executed a no-knock warrant around 5:45 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, and arrested Sandles in a room at the Magnuson Hotel, police said. Investigators reported finding a handgun on the bed, another firearm in a dresser and cash believed to have been taken from the dealership. Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said the suspect will remain in Michigan as that case proceeds. “After this case has been concluded, then and only then will they have rights to this prisoner,” Lucido said.
In Texas, court records show Sandles was charged in August with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and retaliation tied to a July incident at an apartment complex in Humble. He was released on a $200,000 bond with 24-hour house arrest and a GPS monitor. Within days, reports said, he violated his conditions, and a Harris County constable’s office later received an ankle monitor that had been turned in at a government building. Capt. Jose Garza said such tampering would immediately trigger a warrant. Records indicate Sandles did not appear for a hearing on Aug. 29; additional warrants were issued. He was also charged in September with assault of a family member in a separate case connected to a March incident, but he was not arrested on that charge before leaving Texas.
Michigan authorities say the Shelby Township homicides grew out of the unresolved car dispute. According to police, the buyer returned the Hummer after claiming it was defective, then came back weeks later during a time when Batoo was meeting with Baban. “He went in to kill that man, to kill the owner, and Mr. Baban just happened to be there,” Shelide said while describing the surveillance video. Officers said five 9 mm casings were recovered in the office. The dealership sits along a busy stretch of Ryan Road near Auburn Road, with neighboring shops that were swept into a rapid, midday police response as tape went up and the search for the suspect began.
Sandles was arraigned Nov. 10 in 41A District Court in Shelby Township and denied bond. Media outlets reported that prosecutors initially listed 15 counts, including premeditated murder, armed robbery and multiple firearms offenses. Two counts were withdrawn, leaving 13. He faces two counts of first-degree homicide and other felonies that could bring life sentences. Court officers said the next court date was not immediately available Wednesday. Lucido said any extradition to Texas on the open Harris County warrants would wait until the Michigan case is resolved. Police in both states said they are still working to establish how long Sandles had been living in southeast Michigan and how he traveled there after the Houston bond violations.
Outside Star Auto Sales, mourners left flowers as word spread that the owner and a customer had been killed. Family-provided photos showed Baban with relatives; his brother, Sameer Najeeb, called the loss “too much,” saying the family was struggling to explain the sudden violence. Neighbors near the dealership described a quiet block that briefly filled with patrol cars and tape. “It was lunchtime and then all these sirens,” said a shop owner who watched police canvass for video. At the hotel in Romulus, another guest recalled officers moving in before dawn. “It was quick,” the guest said, adding that investigators carried out bags after the arrest.
As of Thursday, Sandles remained held without bond in the Macomb County Jail. Prosecutors said additional filings are possible as lab work and ballistics testing are completed. Michigan investigators plan to release further updates as the case moves into court. In Texas, the Harris County cases remain open with active warrants on the earlier charges. Officials said the next public milestone will be the scheduling of a probable cause conference in district court in the coming days.
Author note: Last updated November 13, 2025.