Rest in peace.
Today is the funeral of a lovely, lovely man from my hometown. His name was John Cox and he owned/operated a little hippie store called 3 Doors Down about a mile away from my parents' house. Over the last 15 years, I have purchased all my incense, pieces, and Grateful Dead memorabilia there. I used to go in every month for the release of the new Jerry Bears. Sometimes I'd stop in just to talk to John and see what he was up to. The store was always empty, but he kept it going because some people (like myself) knew about it and would make an extra effort to go there.
Last Thursday night, he was stabbed to death by a 19-year old homeless kid who needed money. The kid got less than $200 from the register, but he managed to stab John 12 times and leave the body there to be discovered by a customer around 6PM. Thursday night, I was going to go to 3 Doors Down for incense. Because of traffic, I decided I would just go Saturday instead. I could've been the one to find him.
The young man had had the police called on him twice in the previous week by his own family. His mother was trying to get him off the streets and actually told Pontiac police that she thought he might hurt someone because he was desperate. Pontiac police told her to call back when they had more officers on duty to handle something like that. Pontiac is notorious for not having enough of a police force to actually help when there's an issue. The kid also had warrants out for his arrest. The mother even made arrangements to meet him at a restaurant on the 15th where she was hoping police would come pick him up. Police didn't show.
From the article in the newspaper on Saturday:
Cox owned 3 Doors Down, a hippie-style boutique that sells incense, body jewelry and other items, for more than 30 years. Prior to that, he had a business in Pontiac called The Zoo Boutique.
Cox had two children - 18-year-old Tyler and 14-yearold Holly - and was married to Carol. Carol Cox said her husband was proud to own his own business. He was raised in Pontiac and went to Pontiac Central High School.
Someone hit him in the head about a year ago during a robbery attempt.
Cox had an infectious laugh and loved sailing, his wife said.
“Everybody seems to know him. Every time I go somewhere with him, everybody’s a customer. When they see him, they just light up. He’s just a gentle man,” Carol Cox said.
Grieving employees of 3 Doors Down cried and hugged Friday. They tried to clean up pamphlets, lighters and small bottles that had been knocked over during the robbery.
The carpeting in front of the counter area was stained with blood.
Employee Jeannie Herman of Keego Harbor said it felt surreal.
“I’m heartbroken over this,” she said.