GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A man imprisoned for a mid-afternoon murder along a busy Grand Rapids street has been granted a new sentence hearing after arguing that his term of more than 67 years was imposed as punishment for electing to take his case to trial.
The sentence given to Andy Gonzalez in 2018 “cannot be based, even in part, on the defendant’s refusal to admit guilt,’’ the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled.
Gonzalez was charged with first-degree murder; a jury convicted him of a lesser offense of second-degree murder. This for a shooting outside a hair salon on Grandville Avenue SW that left one man dead and another wounded.
Before the case went to trial, Kent County Circuit Court Judge George Quist told Gonzalez that he would impose a sentence at the high end of guidelines if he was convicted of second-degree murder.
The judge explained that a lot of resources go into trying a case, which includes bringing in witnesses from near and far.
“If you are convicted at trial of second-degree murder, I’m very likely to give you the maximum penalty,’’ Quist said at the time. “Do you understand that?’’
And that is what happened.
Gonzalez was given about 65½ years for the murder and a mandatory two years for using a gun.
“I told him that if he was convicted of first-degree murder, I’d give him life without the possibility of parole, as I’d be required to do,’’ Quist said at sentencing. “I told him that if he got convicted of second-degree murder, that I would likely go to the high end of the guidelines because that’s what I have done traditionally in other second-degree murder cases, and I do not see any reason to deviate from that today.’’
That approach, the appeals court said, was improper.
“The trial judge improperly expressed on the record that his sentencing decision was motivated by defendant’s failure to accept a plea, requiring a trial and the exhaustion of ‘a lot of resources,’’’ justices wrote.
The convictions were upheld, but the sentences for second-degree murder and attempted murder were vacated.
When a new judge is assigned to the case, Gonzalez will return to Grand Rapids for re-sentencing.
Gonzalez was convicted of killing 23-year-old D’Andre Bullis Sr., who died from a gunshot to the head. He was also convicted of attempted murder for shooting 26-year-old Manuel Villarreal in the leg. The shooting victims were cousins.
The two men were near a hair salon on Grandville Avenue near Cordelia Street SW when Gonzalez fired several shots. Bullis, who lived in Wyoming, was the father of two.
Gonzalez was arrested a day after the May 5, 2017 shooting. He was 22 at the time and had an extensive criminal record.
Friends and family members of Bullis lambasted Gonzalez when he appeared in court for sentencing.
“I hope you rot in hell in prison for the rest of your damn life,’’ the mother of Bullis’ two children said.
“Not only do you suffer on Earth, you’re going to suffer the rest of your life in eternal hell,’’ the victim’s mother said.
The Kent County Prosecutor’s Office had sought a conviction for first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence. Jurors instead found Gonzalez guilty of the lesser offense.
At sentencing, Quist explained that life without parole is not an option for second-degree murder. If he were to sentence Gonzalez to life, “he could be eligible for parole in 15 years, which is not something I want to do here,’’ the judge explained.
Quist sentenced Gonzalez to between 65½ and 100 years for second-degree murder, and 35 to 100 years for attempted murder; the sentences run concurrent. Gonzalez was also given a mandatory two years for using a gun.
“If he serves all this time, he’ll be eligible for parole approximately when he’s 90 years old,’’ Quist explained at the time.
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