GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A Grand Rapids teen who gunned down two people and shot at a third carried out a “one-man crime wave’’ back in December of 2012, a judge said Thursday before sentencing Royale Gold Runyon to life without parole.
In the span of a week, Runyon fired a shot at a man in a robbery attempt, killed his half-brother and also killed the woman his half-brother once dated.
The woman, Evevana Galloway, was shot at an apartment complex on Dorchester Avenue SW.
“The homicide in which the defendant stands convicted in this case was certainly a brutal, premeditated killing that was thought out and planned out ahead of time,’’ Kent County Circuit Court Judge Donald A. Johnston said.
“She was at the time completely helpless and apparently asleep on the couch and he shot her at close range in the face, inflicting a mortal wound,’’ Johnston said. “It’s certainly a cold, calculated homicide.’’
A Kent County jury in July found Runyon guilty of first-degree murder for Galloway’s death. Because the murder occurred when Runyon was 17 and the offense is punishable by life in prison, a hearing was held Thursday to determine if Runyon should be sentenced to a term of years rather than life.
Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Kellee Koncki said the brutality of the crime, coupled with Runyon’s lack of remorse and extensive juvenile record, justifies a life sentence. “To this day he sits there and laughs,’’ Koncki said.
Galloway’s mother and sister also called for a life sentence.
Defense attorney Alida Bryant asked that the judge sentence Runyon to a term of years, noting her client was still a teen when the murder occurred.
“He was, at that time, undeveloped in the brain,’’ Bryant said. “A term of years will still keep him in for a long time.’’
Johnston said life in prison was appropriate, given the totality of the circumstances.
He noted that Runyon killed Mahdi Hayes with the same 9mm handgun used to kill Galloway. The handgun, which was stolen from Wyoming, was also used by Runyon in a robbery attempt on College Avenue SE in Grand Rapids.
“The mere fact that the defendant was essentially a one-man crime wave, committing multiple capital offenses within a very short period of time, would seem to call for a rather substantial response,’’ Johnston said.
Runyon was sentenced in October of 2013 to between 18 and 60 years for assault with intent to commit murder for the armed robbery attempt and shooting on College Avenue SE. Four months later, he got a 30 to 90-year term for killing Hayes, his half-brother.
Runyon was brought to Grand Rapids in January to face charges in Galloway’s death.
“Certainly, in this case, there really is very little doubt the defendant is guilty of a willful, premeditated, deliberately executed murder of the first degree,’’ Johnston said.
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