By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
Sentencing is scheduled for next Monday for Randall Alan Grinwis, the Zeeland Township man convicted last month in the death of his longtime girlfriend more than two years ago.
Grinwis, 59, is scheduled to appear for sentencing at 9 a.m. before Ottawa County Circuit Judge Karen Miedema. He was convicted Feb. 27 of charges of second-degree murder and larceny of between $1,000 and $20,000 in the Jan. 1, 2024 death of 63-year-old Donna Hyma, inside a home they shared inside the Ottogan Mobile Home Estates park.
A second-degree murder conviction, by itself, carries a possible life sentence, but does not set a minimum sentence. The prosecution is asking for Grinwis to be sentenced as a habitual offender-fourth offense, which would set forth a minimum sentence of at least 25 years in prison.
On Monday, senior assistant county prosecutor Ben Medema called for Grinwis to be sentenced as a habitual offender. He has three prior felony convictions – one for auto theft in 1985, a second for escaping the Ottawa County Jail in 1986 and a third for jail escape/assault on a prison employee in 1996, Medema said.
Defense attorney Philip Sielski filed a motion against his client being sentenced as a habitual offender because of the time that has passed since Grinwis’ most recent conviction. Sielski cited Michigan sentencing guidelines that say that if the most recent conviction is more than 10 years before the current offense, it should not be counted in the scoring process that goes into calculating the sentence.
Miedema was to issue a written ruling this week on whether Grinwis will be sentenced as a habitual offender.
According to the prosecution, Grinwis and Hyma had been arguing about living arrangements during the evening hours of Jan. 1, 2024. According to recorded statements the defendant made to three different detectives – one with Las Vegas, Nev. police and two with the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office – he extended his forearm across Hyma’s neck and pushed down on it to the point where she stopped breathing.
After Hyma’s death, Grinwis fled the area with $1,800 he had earlier withdrawn from the bank that was to have been placed in a lockbox belonging to Hyma’s brother. He drove to Chicago, then caught a flight to Las Vegas, where he stayed for several weeks before turning himself into police.
Zeeland Record
Sentencing is scheduled for next Monday for Randall Alan Grinwis, the Zeeland Township man convicted last month in the death of his longtime girlfriend more than two years ago.
Grinwis, 59, is scheduled to appear for sentencing at 9 a.m. before Ottawa County Circuit Judge Karen Miedema. He was convicted Feb. 27 of charges of second-degree murder and larceny of between $1,000 and $20,000 in the Jan. 1, 2024 death of 63-year-old Donna Hyma, inside a home they shared inside the Ottogan Mobile Home Estates park.
A second-degree murder conviction, by itself, carries a possible life sentence, but does not set a minimum sentence. The prosecution is asking for Grinwis to be sentenced as a habitual offender-fourth offense, which would set forth a minimum sentence of at least 25 years in prison.
On Monday, senior assistant county prosecutor Ben Medema called for Grinwis to be sentenced as a habitual offender. He has three prior felony convictions – one for auto theft in 1985, a second for escaping the Ottawa County Jail in 1986 and a third for jail escape/assault on a prison employee in 1996, Medema said.
Defense attorney Philip Sielski filed a motion against his client being sentenced as a habitual offender because of the time that has passed since Grinwis’ most recent conviction. Sielski cited Michigan sentencing guidelines that say that if the most recent conviction is more than 10 years before the current offense, it should not be counted in the scoring process that goes into calculating the sentence.
Miedema was to issue a written ruling this week on whether Grinwis will be sentenced as a habitual offender.
According to the prosecution, Grinwis and Hyma had been arguing about living arrangements during the evening hours of Jan. 1, 2024. According to recorded statements the defendant made to three different detectives – one with Las Vegas, Nev. police and two with the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office – he extended his forearm across Hyma’s neck and pushed down on it to the point where she stopped breathing.
After Hyma’s death, Grinwis fled the area with $1,800 he had earlier withdrawn from the bank that was to have been placed in a lockbox belonging to Hyma’s brother. He drove to Chicago, then caught a flight to Las Vegas, where he stayed for several weeks before turning himself into police.
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