Police have person of interest in Inkster mother's shooting death

Cheryl Fields found dead on Williams Street, may have been targeted

INKSTER, Mich. – The U.S. Marshals and Inkster police have taken a person of interest into custody in connection to the shooting death of a 49-year-old mother of four.

A family member, who did not want to be identified, says Cheryl Fields was returning home from a fish fry last night when she was ambushed by a gunman at her front door in Inkster on Williams Street.

No other information has been offered on the person of interest who police said was in custody Thursday night.

Neighbors heard seven shots and came outside to see what was going on.

The gunman had fled and Fields was dead.

"They got her right in the face," a neighbor tells Local 4. "It looked like this was personal and it looked like she tried to run."  

Witness connection? 

Police are looking for a man who may have recently been released from prison. 

A family member says that man encountered Fields at a party story a few weeks ago and beat her, calling her a "snitch."

Investigators are checking on details that Fields may have been involved in the man's criminal case. They're checking on information that Fields may have helped police in that case which resulted in prison time for the man.

It's unclear if that potential parolee and suspect was being monitored on a tether or had made threats to Fields in the recent past.

"She was the kind of person that would give you the shirt off her back, food off the table, her last dime," said family friend Bertram Johnson.

Johnson also was Fields' attorney and he said he was always impressed by her dedication to her four children.

"I don't think there's anything that suggests she has any enemies and someone might want to kill her," Johnson said.

Hard life 

One family member says Fields was "always in trouble."

Bullet holes can be seen in her car another car she owned had been "shot up."

Fields is being described as "disabled."

The family member says she lost use of one of her arms from being shot during a shootout in the past. 

Fields' has three boys and one girl ranging in age from 15 to 21.

Fields' family gathered Thursday at a home a few miles away where there are tears and hugs being shared.

"We are grieving." One of the victim's sisters saod. "We don't have anything to say." 

Inkster police investigate deadly shooting