GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Grand Rapids man has been sentenced to a minimum of nearly six years in prison for a deadly 2019 overdose that occurred New Year’s Eve in a Walker motel room.
According to investigators, Keyonte Bowman provided the fentanyl that killed 39-year-old Zachary Andrew Murray, of Crystal, Mich. It happened at a motel near Walker Avenue NW and Int. 96, according to court records.
Kent County Circuit Court Judge Paul Sullivan went to the higher end of sentencing guidelines in giving Bowman a term of between 70 months and 25 years in prison.
“It’s like a roulette wheel and this is not the first case I’ve had of this nature,’’ Sullivan said during a recent sentencing hearing. “This is happening more and more. People are dying as a result of this trafficking in narcotics.’’
Murray is one of 109 drug overdose deaths in Kent County in 2019. Fentanyl played a role in 64% of the deaths.
Fatal overdose numbers for 2020 have not been completed, but Kent County Medical Examiner Dr. Stephen Cohle said he expects there will be an increase.
“I think our drug overdoses have increased in the last year because of COVID,’’ Cohle said. “Fentanyl is probably our single-most common and problematic drug.’’
Bowman, 26, is one of at least five people to be prosecuted in Kent County in 2020 for delivery of a controlled substance causing death. A warrant charging Bowman was authorized in May.
Bowman was sentenced on Dec. 29, but Sullivan gave him a few more days of freedom. He ordered Bowman to report to jail on Jan. 4 to await transfer to the Michigan Department of Corrections.
“So, if you don’t show up on Monday, you can anticipate there will be other consequences,’’ Sullivan said. “You understand that, right?’’
“Yes,’’ Bowman responded.
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