GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Although the 1996 execution of a Grand Rapids party store clerk was “atrocious,’’ a judge this week said the gunman, who was 15 at the time, deserves eventual freedom.
“You certainly have matured and changed your life around,’’ Judge Mark Trusock told 38-year-old Robert J. Maze. “I believe that you are truly remorseful.’’
Trusock resentenced Maze to between 35 and 60 years in prison on a felony murder conviction. With credit for time already served, Maze will be eligible for release when he is in his early 50s.
“I can sincerely say that today I’m a completely different person; a man who wishes to be a pillar in the community,’’ Maze said during his resentencing hearing Thursday in Kent County Circuit Court.
Maze was destined to die behind bars after being sentenced to mandatory life for killing 61-year-old Rodney Corp during a robbery on the city’s Northwest Side.
But that changed in 2012 when the U.S. Supreme Court said mandatory life sentences for juvenile murderers was unconstitutional. Four years later, justices said the ruling applied retroactively.
That set the stage for more than 360 resentencing hearings in Michigan, including about two dozen in Kent County. All but four of the Kent County cases have been resolved.
Trusock called circumstances of Corp’s murder “atrocious’’ and “outrageous.’’
“This was not an armed robbery that had gone bad; this was basically an execution,’’ the judge said.
Maze and two teenage co-defendants targeted the Beer Kooler Party Store well in advance of the Feb. 1, 1996 robbery, court records show.
Maze shot Corp, who was working alone behind the counter, with a sawed-off long gun almost immediately after entering the store. Corp was shot again after falling to the floor.
Before going there, the trio watched 'Menace II Society,' a 1993 movie in which the opening scene shows the robbery and murder of a liquor store clerk.
Maze, along with co-defendants Christopher Lee Peltier and Saulo Montalvo, were arrested and charged with felony murder. Peltier and Montalvo were resentenced in 2016 to a term of years.
Although the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office sought a no-parole sentence for Maze, Trusock said several factors weighed in Maze’s favor, including his conduct in prison.
“You’ve been an avid reader, a baker, a cook,’’ Trusock said. “And I’ve noticed on 45 work evaluations that you had, you were almost perfect on every one of those.’’
Maze did not have the best home life as a child and started using alcohol and drugs, including marijuana and cocaine, the judge said. “You were given almost no guidance when you were raised,’’ Trusock said.
Maze thanked the judge for resentencing him to a term of years rather than upholding the life sentence.
“I’m not a finished product; I plan to continue to work hard every day to be the best example of change,’’ Maze said.
“Good luck to you sir,’’ the judge said as Maze left the courtroom. “I hope you can continue to do well.’’
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