DETROIT – Federal agents say a convicted felon who complained that someone “just tried to steal my mother f***ing car” at a Detroit gas station minutes later pulled a gun and opened fire in a nearby parking lot.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said investigators are seeking charges against Briane Pickens for being a felon in possession of ammunition.
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According to a federal complaint, Pickens has multiple felony convictions, including armed robbery, carjacking and felony firearm. He was sentenced to 81 to 135 months in prison, and when he was released in July of 2021, Pickens was barred from having guns or bullets.
This new case stems from an Oct. 24, 2025, shooting on Hubbell Street in a residential area of Detroit. ShotSpotter technology reported seven gunshots just after 10 a.m., according to the complaint.
Federal agents reviewed surveillance video from two nearby businesses and said it showed Pickens went inside the store and told the clerk, “Ay let me get some gas -- just tried to steal my mother f***ing car.” After the clerk responded, Pickens said, “Man, hell yeah, he had his 30 -- I ain’t have my s*** though.”
As he reached into his left pocket, he said, “Oh, wait, look man, I’m riding dirty, I’m gonna tear his a** up,” the complaint said. He then handed over cash and told the clerk, “Give me that on the Charger,” before walking out.
On his way out of the store, Pickens spoke to another person inside, saying, “Yeah, no, he walking across the street with his dog, wanna slow down, you see I’m going places -- then he tell me slow down,” referring to someone down the street, according to court documents.
Around 10:10 a.m., after he finished pumping gas, the Charger left and pulled into a second business. Pickens allegedly got out of the driver’s seat and drew a pistol from his left coat pocket and began arguing with a second man.
A minute later, Pickens pointed what appeared to be the same pistol toward the alley behind the second business and “appeared to fire several shots” in that direction, then got back into the Charger and left, the feds said.
A Detroit police officer later returned to the shooting scene and recovered four shell casings from the street or an empty lot where the second man had been seen. The officer also found one shell casing in the parking lot area where Pickens had been seen with the Charger. An ATF interstate nexus expert concluded they were manufactured outside Michigan and qualify as “ammunition” under federal law, the complaint said.
Pickens was temporarily detained and a Detention Hearing is set for Tuesday, Feb. 17, at 1 p.m.