BARRY COUNTY, Mich. — A Barry County man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing two men in Orangeville Township last summer.
Jon Otis Burnett, 64, was sentenced to two terms of life in prison without parole by Judge Michael Schipper on Friday, Oct. 9 in the Barry County Trial Court, Circuit Division.
On Aug. 12, Burnett was convicted first-degree murder by premeditation in the deaths of Gary Peake and Bryce DeGoode. Both men were shot to death in June of 2019.
Peake was Burnett's next-door neighbor and DeGoode was a Consumers Energy contractor. Previously, Burnett's wife said her husband has never been a violent man and that he must have "snapped."
"The sentencing, like the trial process in this case, was emotional and difficult for the victims whose lives are forever changed by the senseless and violent acts committed by Mr. Burnett on July 21, 2019," Barry County Prosecutor Julie Nakfoor Pratt said in her written opinion released Friday.
"There is no logical explanation for this tragedy. It is our opinion that Mr. Burnett was motivated by anger and vengeance when he committed these selfish violent acts. There is no place in society for Mr. Burnett, we are grateful that he will spend the rest of his life in prison," her opinion continued.
Burnett was also convicted for 34 other criminal charges, including felony murder, unlawful imprisonment, assault with a dangerous weapon, and resisting and obstructing police. Burnett assaulted 13 other people, including his wife. He received several shorter sentences for the other charges.
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