HOUSTON – A plot by a Michigan man to rob his drug supplier led to the murder of the middleman’s wife at a storage facility, according to police.
Kip Stitts, 57, of Detroit, is accused in the Nov. 5, 2025, murder of Sherry Dawson at a storage facility in Houston, Texas.
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In the charging document -- which was prepared Friday, Jan. 16, 2026 -- police said Dawson’s common-law husband showed up to her murder scene and revealed what he believed to be the reason behind her killing.
What happened
Houston police were called to the storage facility on Eastex Freeway at 10:15 a.m. Nov. 5, 2025, and found Dawson lying on the ground.
She had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead, according to authorities.
Surveillance video showed Dawson arriving at the facility, closely followed by someone in a white Ford F-250 pickup truck. There was some sort of altercation between Dawson and the driver of the pickup before that person drove off and Dawson was left lying on the ground.
Common-law husband arrives
An officer with the Houston Police Department said someone approached during their investigation at the storage facility and identified himself as Dawson’s common-law husband.
He told police that Dawson had gone to the storage unit to get some items, police said. He told them that she had been gone for awhile, so he went to check on her, according to the charging document.
When he learned that Dawson had been killed, the man “became distraught as expected and claimed he knew who might have done this to her,” the document says.
Middleman describes drug operation
The man told police that he is involved in drug trafficking, working as a middleman between a supplier and a buyer, according to authorities.
He would collect money from the buyer and give to to the supplier, who would then get the product to the buyer, the document says.
Police said the man claimed to have known Stitts for awhile, and that Stitts was looking to buy cocaine. The man said he introduced Stitts to the supplier so they could conduct business, police said.
Plan to rob supplier leads to retaliation
The middleman said Stitts revealed a plan to rob the supplier, which upset the middleman because he didn’t want there to be any issues with them, according to authorities.
“(The middleman) then informed the supplier that (Stitts) was talking about robbing them,” the charging document says. “This upset the supplier. (The middleman) stated that the supplier told (the middleman) that they wanted to set up (Stitts) to steal his money in retaliation for the betrayal.”
The middleman told Stitts that product was ready, so Stitts paid him $125,000, according to police. When the middleman gave that money to the supplier, the middleman was given $10,000, but the supplier never gave Stitts the product, police said.
After that, the middleman cut ties with Stitts, ignoring his calls and messages and blocking his numbers, the document says.
Retaliation for stolen money
The middleman said the operation to steal Stitts’ money happened about a month before Dawson’s murder.
The middleman said about two weeks before Dawson’s murder, the word on the street was that Stitts was looking for the middleman.
“(The middleman) believes that his wife was killed over stealing the money from Kip Stitts,” the charging document says. “(The middleman) also added that his friend saw (Stitts) in Houston on Monday (Nov. 3, 2025), and that (Stitts) was driving a white Ford 250 with a black/gray front end and sent (the middleman) a photo of it.”
The middleman told police that the truck belongs to his friend’s dad, who had been trying to sell it.
Where the case stands
Officials announced a murder charge against Stitts this week.
The document says that Stitts has not yet been taken into custody, but lists his address as being on Detroit’s east side.
Local 4 is investigating this case and reaching out to local authorities for information.