Three Grand Rapids men appear for felony murder prelim

KENT COUNTY, MI – Prosecuting attorneys used witness testimony and surveillance footage in an attempt to connect an alleged robbery spree with the killing of a man at an ATM.

The suspects accused in the fatal May 24 shooting of a man using an ATM also face charges in connection to other thefts that happened in the Grand Rapids area that same night.

Several witnesses testified during the first day of preliminary examination Thursday, June 30, against the three Grand Rapids men who are being charged with felony murder, which carries a penalty of life in prison without parole upon conviction, and conspiracy to commit armed robbery, a life offense. They also are charged with felony firearm.

The preliminary exam is expected to continue 8:30 a.m. Friday in 63rd District Court with Judge Jeffrey O’Hara.

Jaheim Hayes-Goree, Rishy Manning, and Javonte Rosa are accused in the killing of Joseph Wilder, a married father of three who was shot and killed while conducting an ATM transaction in Byron Township on May 24.

RELATED: Victim of fatal shooting at ATM remembered for devotion to family, faith

Wilder, 50, was at the Huntington Bank drive-through ATM on South Division Avenue around 10:30 p.m. when a blue Chevy Equinox pulled up next to his truck, according to surveillance footage from the ATM machine. Video showed men on each side of Wilder’s vehicle, and moments later, Wilder appeared to put his hands up.

Just as Wilder put his truck in drive, the suspect near the driver’s side of the truck shot Wilder in the left side of his head, footage showed. Both suspects ran back to the Chevy, which fled south on South Division.

Wilder’s truck rolled across the street and came to rest against a fence in the parking lot of the business across the street. First responders found the man dead at the scene, according to police testimony.

The ATM video surveillance showed one of the suspects – the one who fatally shot Wilder – was wearing a light gray hooded sweatshirt tied tightly over his head, as well as a glove with the logo of a golf club, which prosecutors used to tie the suspects to an alleged crime spree in the area that night.

RELATED: Suspects jailed, fatal shooting at ATM caught on surveillance cameras

Witnesses and investigators first attempted to tie the suspects to an incident on South Division where an Audi sport-utility vehicle was stolen that night. The Audi was later used in a robbery on Ann Street in Grand Rapids and at a gas station on 28th Street SE and East Paris Avenue in Kentwood.

Surveillance footage at the scene showed a blue Chevy Equinox was involved in the theft, and that a person in a light gray hoodie and gloves got out of the Chevy for a few moments during the robbery. The angle of the footage revealed the person was wearing white Crocs.

Prosecuting attorneys then attempted to tie the suspects to a robbery where shots were fired at a Family Dollar on Leonard Street NW, near Seward Avenue, about an hour before the fatal ATM shooting. Store video footage showed a person also wearing a gray hoodie, gloves and white Crocs.

During Thursday’s hearing, Brent Bailey testified he was shopping at the Family Dollar that night when a man walked up to the cash register and held a gun up to the cashier’s head, allegedly demanding money.

Bailey testified he saw the suspect wearing a face mask that covered about three-quarters of his face. Bailey said he didn’t remember what the suspect was wearing, only that it was dark-colored clothing.

Several times during his testimony, Bailey said he remembered the suspect’s eyes, which he said were distinctive because he thought they showed “no empathy.”

“After seeing the eyes and that connection, I, on purpose, just wanted to look away,” said Bailey, who testified he quickly crawled away from the cash register after the suspect pulled out a gun. “I wanted to be not -- I didn’t want to be at risk.”

Bailey said he later saw photos of the robbery suspects in the news, and recognized one of them as the suspect with the gun that he saw at Family Dollar. When asked by the prosecuting attorney to identify that suspect, Bailey pointed at Hayes-Goree, 20.

But during cross examination by Hayes-Goree’s attorney, Damian Nunzio, Bailey admitted that he couldn’t remember any identifying details about the suspect, including his eye color.

Bailey testified he didn’t provide any description of the suspect to police on the night of the robbery, other than that the suspect had dark brown skin and wore dark-colored clothing.

Hayes-Goree and Rishy Manning, 22, were eventually arrested early May 25 after crashing the stolen Audi. Grand Rapids police spotted the Audi around 2:15 a.m. and began to chase.

The pursuit crossed into Walker, where local police took over, until the Audi crashed at Alpine Avenue NW and Four Mile Road.

The suspects fled on foot but were captured by police from multiple agencies. They were wearing clothing that matched clothing of the suspects shown on surveillance video, according to police. Police recovered a handgun inside the stolen Audi that crashed.

Rosa, 23, was arrested on June 2, court records show.

Woman being charged with murder for fatal Grand Rapids apartment fire

After hung jury, 2 men accused in plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer to be retried

Boy to remain with adoptive parents over birth father based on Michigan Supreme Court ruling

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022).

© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.