GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A 15-year-old boy was shot and killed while riding a scooter around downtown Grand Rapids earlier this year. A man has been charged with murder in his death.
Josiah Tyree Pittman, 18, was charged with second-degree murder and using a firearm while committing a crime in the death of La-kyijah Williams on Monday afternoon.
From what I can tell, Pittman was put into the county jail on Friday. He said in court papers that he had nothing to do with the killing.
SHOOTING CAUGHT ON VIDEO
La-kyijah was shot in the back of the head just before midnight on May 18 near Ottawa Avenue SW and Oakes Street SW. This is near Studio Park, which is south of Van Andel Arena.
“Fifteen-year-old girl who was just riding her scooter in downtown Grand Rapids was shot and killed,” Chief Eric Winstrom said at a news conference at the Grand Rapids Police Department offices on Monday afternoon.
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A court record shows that the shooting was caught on camera. There were “several other juvenile subjects” with the shooter at the time, the paper says. The shooter then pulled a gun out of his waistband, fired four shots, and ran away in the opposite direction. It says that a film shows the shooter taking off a mask that he was wearing.
Winstrom said the shooting in a busy place with a lot of innocent people nearby was “extremely cowardly.”
“No. 1 for the act, but No. 2 because you do not know how those rounds will go.” “Even when they only go a few blocks, they are still very dangerous,” he said.
People in La-kyijah’s family remembered her as silly and always laughing in the days after she died. People told me she loved clothes, basketball, and her nephews and cousins.
I have never seen anyone so happy.” LaMia Foster, her sister, told News 8 in May, “She made even the worst times better.”
PROSECUTOR: ‘BEEF’ PROMPTED SHOOTING
Chris Becker, the prosecutor for Kent County, said that the shooting was not random and that La-kyijah was not the goal.
Becker said, “This is a terrible event.” “This violent act was not done by chance.” There was a goal. Miss Williams was not the goal, which is a shame. She was just going about her business downtown when she got hit.
Becker and Winstrom would not say who they thought the target was; they would only say that La-kyijah was not with that person.
It is possible that something will come from that, Becker said when asked about the goal. “That is not something we are ready to talk about right now.”
The lawyer said there seemed to be some “beef” involved, but they would not say more than that, saying, “We are just going to leave it at that.”
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The chief praised his agents and Blair Lachman, the assistant prosecutor who was in charge of the case, saying that they worked hard.
Investigating every murder takes a lot of time.” Everything gets more difficult when that happens in public. Additionally, the murder happened in downtown Grand Rapids, where there are a lot of people.
This means that there are a lot of people to talk to, a lot of businesses to visit, and a lot of places where surveillance video or other proof could be found. “In terms of logistics, this was a very heavy lift,” Winstrom said.
“We do not forget any murder victim, but when it came to a 15-year-old girl from Grand Rapids, my detectives were not going to calm down.” We will remember this, and when it does happen, we will hold people responsible.
The video and comments from witnesses helped police figure out that Pittman was the shooter, the court document says. Even after being shown several photos from the killing, Pittman said it was not him.
A subpoena for investigations forces witnesses to appear in court under oath, and Becker said that this is what the prosecutors did to solve the case. He said the witness was willing to help.
CHIEF: ‘HEARTBREAKING, TRAGIC, AVOIDABLE
Winstrom said the killing was “absolutely heartbreaking, absolutely tragic, and absolutely avoidable.” However, he also said that as the police worked the case, they saw “a lot of cooperation with the community.”
The chief said, “I want to thank the community for really coming together to say that we will not be the city that lets one of our children get killed and then does not do anything about it.”
Afterward, he said, “There is no moral way to defend silence when a child is being murdered.”
The Grand Rapids Police Department is still looking into the death of another 15-year-old. Amillier Penn was shot and killed while playing football with some friends in a Grand Rapids neighborhood about two weeks after La-kyijah’s death.
Winstrom said, “I am sure we are going in the right direction with that case.” We have a lot of agents who are not going to rest, just like with La-Kijah, and we are not going to forget about Milli.”
Stand up: The family of a dead kid in Grand Rapids wants to know what happened.
If you know anything about the deaths of La-kyijah or Amillier or any other case, you can call GRPD officers at 616.456.3380 or Silent Observer at 616.774.2345.
The judge said no to Pittman’s bond at his hearing because the charge was so serious and they were worried about the safety of the community.
He could spend the rest of his life in jail if he is found guilty of killing La-kyijah. A conviction for a felony gun charge adds two years to any term.
