GRAND RAPIDS, MI — A 19-year-old man has pleaded no contest to second-degree murder for a 2020 killing that happened during a marijuana robbery.
Lonnie Jay Sanders III entered the plea Wednesday, Dec. 15 and, according to a plea deal, will be sentenced to a minimum of 22 years in prison.
Kent County prosecutors said Sanders shot 23-year-old Michael Kirkwood in the area of Burton Street and Collins Avenue about 9 p.m. Dec. 6, 2020.
Related: Plainfield Township man’s shooting death happened amid marijuana robbery gone wrong, testimony shows
Kirkwood managed to drive away, but ended up crashing his vehicle at Burton Street SE and Division Avenue.
Police arrived and found he had been shot.
When Sanders was arrested, police searched his cell phone and found text messages between Sanders and his girlfriend that showed a robbery of Eastwood was planned.
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