GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The man who shot and killed 23-year-old Mya Kelly the day after Christmas in 2022 was sentenced Monday afternoon.
Keyante Newbern, 29, was found guilty of 1st-Degree Murder, Carrying Concealed, Firearm Possession by a Felon and Felony Firearm in March after a trial of a few days.
Newbern was sentenced to life in prison for the murder charge, 60 months to 30 years for the felon firearm possession and concealed weapon charges and 2 years for the felony firearm charge.
The shooting happened on Dec. 26, 2022 when Omar Dannah, Kelly's boyfriend and the father of her two children, was home with her and the kids.
A little before 10 p.m., there was a knock on the door and Kelly looked through the peephole. Shortly after, gunshots went off. Kelly was killed on the other side of the front door.
Newbern was arrested in January 2023 at his aunt's home in Lansing.
Police used surveillance video from three separate locations and witness descriptions to find Newbern.
Seconds after the shooting, someone working on their car saw a man wearing a white and gray jacket running away from the scene. Officials used this description to find more surveillance footage in the area, where they discovered the getaway vehicle was a Dodge Journey.
Grand Rapids Police took the suspected driver of the Dodge Journey into custody. They also later identified Newbern through his existing criminal record and took him into custody.
During questioning, Newbern denied being at the shooting scene. Instead, he said he was recording a rap video and was taken there by the suspected driver.
That driver told police he dropped Newbern off near Kelly's home after the rap video was finished.
In the rap video, Newbern was wearing the same white and gray jacket from that night, investigators say.
While the gun used in the shooting was never found, detectives said the bullets used in the shooting were from the same gun that Newbern showed in the rap video. They also found a laser sight for a gun in Newbern's apartment.
The Corner Bar in Rockford raised over $12,000 for Kelly's family. She was a former employee there and her father, nicknamed "Toe Joe," is a longtime employee.
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