Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org
The Wyoming Department of Public safety announced last week that suspect Yenly Garcia was found in Mexico and taken into custody.
Wyoming Police Detectives have been investigating the homicide of Mollie Schmidt since Aug. 30, 2022. The murder took place in the 1500 block of 44th Street SW inside an apartment belong to Garcia. On Sept. 2, 2022, the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office authorized an open murder warrant for Garcia associated with the incident.
Earlier this week, Garcia was taken into custody in central Mexico, north of Mexico City. He was arrested through cooperation between Wyoming Police, the United Marshals Service and Mexican authorities. Further details of his arrest are not available a this time. Extradition processes are being exorcized to return Garcia to Michigan to face his changes.
Anyone with further information on this incident is asked to contact the Wyoming Police at 616-530-7300 or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345 or 1-866-774-2345 or to visit www.silentobserver.org
Kentwood investigates shooting
On Sept. 9, 2022, officers of the Kentwood Police Department were dispatched to the area of Kelekent Avenue and 56th Street for a possible shooting that occurred. One subject showed up to a local hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound which is believed to be related to this incident. Three subjects were taken into custody during this investigation for charges related to this investigation and outstanding warrants.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact the Kentwood Police Department Detectives Bureau at 616-656-6604 or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345 or 1-866-774-2345 or to visit www.silentobserver.org.
No charges in Burger King incident
Kent CountyProsecutor Chris Becker announced today that he would not be filing charges in the alleged Sept. 4, 2022 assault that occurred at the Wyoming Burger King located at 1313 28th St. SW.
According to a Sept. 4 report from Wyoming Department of Public Safety, a disorderly male customer who was unhappy with his service entered the store and climbed over the counter. He acted aggressively toward staff and assaulted two juvenile employees of the business during the incident before leaving.
Upon further investigation, Becker said that while he finds the suspect’s behavior “abhorrent,” the actions of the Burger King employees was “aggressive and that there is blame on both sides for the incident.
“By no means am I condoning (the person’s) behavior,” Becker said. “This could have been avoided if he would have simply just driven away after not getting the service that he wanted at this Burger King, but he didn’t do so and we have to deal with the facts as they are and there’s just not a basis to file charges for this incident.”
The suspect, who came through the drive thru, was unhappy about the soda coming down the side of his cup. Security footage, which was shown at press conference held last week, shows an employee wiping down a cup and returning it to the suspect who knocks it out of the employee’s hand. It then shows the suspect driving around and coming into the restaurant, jumping the counter, and grabbing a cup. He then went to the soda fountain pour a drink and poured soda on the floor. An employee then threw an ice-coffee at the suspect, who confronted the employee.
From there things escalated with Becker noting that as the suspect left the premises employees pursued him with one appearing to do a flying kick out the door.
Becker said because there was a fight with both sides being aggressive, there’s not enough evidence to charge the suspect with aggravated assault.
