GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The first person prosecuted for the Grand Rapids riot was sentenced Wednesday to 120 days in jail for what the judge called “a huge mistake.’’
“This was a huge mistake you made,’’ Kent County Circuit Court Judge Curt Benson told 19-year-old Adrian K. Baker. “There are consequences if you just start wantonly smashing up innocent businesses.''
In addition to jail, Baker was ordered to pay $6,849 in restitution for damage to a coffee shop on Monroe Center NW.
Baker, who was 18 at the time of the riot, was the first person to be charged. He apologized for his conduct.
“I would just like to apologize to the people and to the court,’’ he said during Wednesday’s virtual sentencing hearing. “I went down there, and I really messed up. This is not me.’’
There is a carrot for Baker. If he completes three years of probation without any major missteps, his record will be wiped clean under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act.
Baker is the sixth person to be sentenced for the riots that overtook downtown Grand Rapids May 30-31 of 2020. The rioting followed a protest to denounce the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
In all, 22 people were charged with riot, including one juvenile. Riot is punishable by up to 10 years in prison; none of the defendants sentenced thus far have been sent to prison.
Sentencing guidelines for Baker did not call for prison. But Benson said some jail time was appropriate and should also serve as a deterrent to others.
“You participated in a riot,’’ Benson said. “Thousands of people devastated this city for no particular reason. Mr. Baker, you weren’t protesting anything. I know that. You know that. You don’t know George Floyd from Adam.
“And for no reason, a group of people, and you participated in it, decided to smash and commit vandalism. It was so wanton and pointless.’’
The judge acknowledged that 18-year-olds are prone to impulsive and immature behavior, which Benson said he took into account when determining Baker’s sentence.
“You sound like a pretty decent young man,’’ Benson said. “I want you to do your time, get out, make something of yourself, comply with the probation. You’ll come out of this without any kind of a record at all.’’
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