GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Kent County sheriff’s deputies are seeking homicide and robbery charges against two men for a late-night crime spree that left a man dead, state police records show.
Records show both suspects, ages 22 and 20, have criminal records. Both are in the Kent County jail.
Michigan State Police records show warrants have been requested on charges of felony homicide, robbery and stolen property charges.
Joseph Wilder, 50, of Kentwood, was shot to death during an apparent robbery attempt late Tuesday night near an ATM on S. Division Avenue and M-6 in Byron Township. Wilder’s family said he had gone to the bank, a mile from his home, to make a deposit.
The robbery was among four during the spree in metro Grand Rapids that lasted about five hours. Deputies say the suspects also stole a car, which they later crashed to end a police chase at Alpine Avenue NW and 4 Mile Road.
The 22-year-old was sentenced in 2017 to 240 days in jail and probation for breaking into a building in Kentwood. In 2019, he got at least 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to six break-ins in Kent and Ottawa counties, prison records show. He was released from prison in October 2021 and placed on parole.
The 20-year-old was sentenced to 182 days in jail in 2019 on two counts of breaking into buildings in Kent County, state police records show.