GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — A "juvenile lifer" from Ottawa County who shot and killed a Holland restaurant cook in 1997, was resentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Juan Carlos Nunez was 16 when he murdered 22-year-old Scott Anderson during a robbery at Pereddies Restaurant and Deli on September 17, 1997. He was serving a life sentence, but appeared in court this week after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sentencing juveniles to life without parole is cruel and unusual punishment.
Like all "juvenile lifers" Nunez, now 38 years old, had an opportunity to be resentenced to a term of years. After hearing testimony and reviewing reports Tuesday, Judge John Hulsing maintained the original decision.
"There are no mitigating factors," Hulsing said. "Instead the conduct, behavior and psychological makeup demonstrate that life without parole is the appropriate sanction."
When asked about the offense 22 years later, Nunez claimed he didn't regret the robbery or the killing, he said.
"Not that he pulled the trigger, not that he killed Scott, rather the 38-year-old defendant expressed regret that he rushed through the robbery and did not take the time to make sure that he had obtained money," Hulsing said.
Anderson's family shared tearful embraces following the decision. They recognized that they'll likely be back in court if Nunez chooses to appeal. His attorney did not comment after the hearing.
"This process is not over," said James Anderson, Scott's father. "For us, it's reliving it every single time we get that letter in the mail that says there's going to be a hearing or an appeal...and that's what's so difficult is reliving it."
God answered a prayer today and hopefully will do the same through the appeals process, said Mary Anderson, Scott's mother.
"He can become a piece of our past, and we won't have to worry that he's going to get out and another family's going to go through what we went through," she said. "That's the piece I'm looking for."
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