Two who were teens in '96 shooting will get chance at parole

GRAND RAPIDS (AP) - Two men who were teenagers when they participated in the robbery and fatal shooting of a Grand Rapids store owner will get a chance at freedom.

At the prosecutor's request, a judge last Friday reduced the no-parole sentences of Saulo Montalvo, who was the getaway driver, and Christopher Peltier, who grabbed the cash register at the Beer Kooler back in 1996.

The extraordinary breaks are a result of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that declared teens must be treated differently than adults in murder cases. No-parole sentences are no longer automatic.

Montalvo now will be eligible for parole in five years. Peltier will need another 15 years. Prosecutor Bill Forsyth says he opposes a shorter sentence for the man who fatally shot Rodney Corp at the party store.

Published: Tue, Oct 04, 2016