HOLLAND, Mich. — The Holland man charged with killing a 14-year-old boy at a Holland Township Hotel will face a jury in Ottawa County Circuit Court.
Juan Sandro Cabrera, 18, is accused of murdering Troy "TJ" Wells in the hallway of a Hampton Inn on Felch Street just after midnight on Saturday, Feb. 16. Cabrera is facing open murder, felony firearm and gang membership felony charges.
He appeared in Holland District Court Thursday for a preliminary exam hearing.
Several witnesses testified that the shooting occurred after a gang-related altercation. Wells was shot at least six times and died from bullet wounds to the torso, said Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Stephen Cohle.
Jakara Hunter, Wells' sister, said she asked him to join her at the hotel while she visited friends. Hunter said she was in a separate room when she heard Wells was in a fight.
"I looked in the doorway and there was a gun," she testified. "I hit the floor, and I seen TJ on the other side of the hallway. He had got shot the first time...and he hit the floor, and I just seen him kept getting shot."
Cabrera goes by the street name "Silent" and is part of the Latin Kings, according to several witnesses. Joey Garcia, known as "Stitch," said Cabrera brought two rifles to his party at the hotel and posed for a picture with them.
In the photo, Garcia testified, Cabrera is standing with Julio Palomares, who is also a Latin King. Palomares is holding a gun and throwing up a Latin Kings gang sign, while Cabrera is throwing down a Gangster Disciples sign, a gesture of disrespect.
"It means GD killer," said Megyn Hanrahan, who attended the party.
Both parties were on the same floor of the hotel. Palomares started arguing in the hallway with Wells, who was believed to be affiliated with the Gangster Disciples, said Skylar Hittle, who was walking to the pool with Palomares.
Garcia said when the people in the room heard about the fight, Cabrera told him to move aside and held the door open with his foot.
"All I remember is just hearing the gun shots and gunpowder everywhere," he said. "That's when I ran out and pushed Julio, and Juan was still there with the gun in his arm and everything still holding the door."
Wells was screaming, and there was blood everywhere, Hittle said.
Cabrera was arrested on March 1 in the Upper Peninsula. Judge Susan Jonas bound him over to the Ottawa County Circuit Court, where he will be arraigned on May 13.
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