Tyrone Kenneth Smith, Jr., a 29-year-old from Grand Rapids, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for being a felon in possession of ammunition, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey announced on May 4. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Jonker remarked that it was “miraculous that no one was seriously hurt . . . [or] killed” when Smith fired a semiautomatic weapon with a high-capacity magazine at a crowded venue.
VerHey said, “We chose Smith for federal prosecution on this firearms charge because he has repeatedly refused to abide by laws that say he cannot have a firearm. After being convicted no fewer than four times for felony firearms offenses in the State of Michigan, he went out and got himself yet another gun, then took it to a crowded public gathering and fired it off. Through his actions, Smith has told us all that he is a menace to the rest of us, and he cannot be rehabilitated. He deserves the sentence he got today, and we will be watching him when he is eventually allowed out of prison.”
According to court records, on June 22 last year Smith fired four rounds from his gun during an incident involving young people gathered on the Blue Bridge in downtown Grand Rapids. Surveillance footage captured Smith pulling the firearm from his waistband and firing as people fled the bridge. Police later recovered the weapon—a Polymer P80 pistol with an extended magazine—loaded with an additional 22 live rounds; these privately made “ghost guns” lack serial numbers and are difficult to trace.
Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office said: “When a convicted felon chooses to unlawfully possess ammunition and a firearm in an attempt to spread fear and cause panic, they should expect swift justice and the full weight of federal law. The defendant’s actions endangered lives and threatened public safety in a place where visitors deserve peace. I commend the excellent investigative work of our FBI Grand Rapids Resident Agency, alongside the Grand Rapids Police Department, whose partnership uncovered critical evidence leading to the defendant’s arrest.”
Interim Grand Rapids Police Chief Joe Trigg said: “Grand Rapids Police Department appreciates the partnership between local law enforcement, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to address violent crime, and especially gun violence, in our community. Every offender that faces accountability means a safer community for us all.”
The case was investigated by both agencies involved—the FBI Detroit Field Office’s Grand Rapids Resident Agency as well as local police—and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis M. Sanford.
The case forms part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which brings together different levels of law enforcement with communities aiming at reducing violent crime including gun violence.
The U.S. Attorney for Western District of Michigan supports community health through heroin and opioid awareness efforts according to its official website. The office maintains staffed locations in Grand Rapids and Marquette along with unstaffed offices elsewhere according to its official website. It is part of United States Department of Justice according to its official website employing about seventy prosecutors plus support staff according to its official website. The office prosecutes federal crimes while managing civil litigation for United States government according to its official website, handles debt recovery cases across Michigan while supporting victims’ needs within one nation’s largest law enforcement areas covering roughly 1.6 million residents according to its official website, ranking among longest-standing federal districts nationwide according to its official website.
