A Detroit man’s own social media post is what tied him to a violent pistol-whipping, according to federal prosecutors, after a friend uploaded a photo of his handgun with a woman’s hair still wrapped around the muzzle and a caption bragging about the attack.
Colin Harris, a convicted felon, is accused of assaulting a woman he previously dated during a gathering following a funeral on August 9, according to court documents. Witnesses told investigators Harris was walking around the gathering waving a firearm before the confrontation turned violent, striking the woman hard enough that a chunk of her hair weave became lodged in the gun’s muzzle. She was treated for a head injury that required two staples to close, according to police.
The post that gave him away
The day after the assault, a friend of Harris’s allegedly posted a photograph to Instagram showing a black handgun with strands of hair hanging from the muzzle, captioned, “Pistol whipping btcs I got weave stuck in my Gen.” Investigators say the image became key evidence connecting Harris to the attack once it was flagged to federal agents.
FBI raid turns up a stolen gun
On August 31, FBI agents searched Harris’s Detroit home and recovered a stolen Glock 30S .45-caliber handgun from a bedroom, according to court records. Because Harris is a convicted felon barred from possessing firearms, prosecutors filed a federal felon-in-possession charge tied directly to the weapon found in the search.
Court records show Harris has prior federal convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for aggravated identity theft, along with earlier Detroit convictions for carrying a concealed weapon and fleeing and eluding police.
Sources: The Detroit News · ClickOnDetroit · WXYZ
