Man Pleads Guilty But Mentally Ill In Lansing Firefighter's Hit-And-Run Death
LANSING, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - A young man accused of intentionally running down a Lansing firefighter with his pickup truck has pleaded guilty but mentally ill to second-degree murder.
Under a deal with prosecutors, 24-year-old Grant Taylor would face a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison on Sept. 7. He also pleaded guilty but mentally ill Thursday to fleeing police and failing to stop at the scene. Either side can back out of the agreement if the judge goes higher or lower than 30 years.
Taylor, who has a history of bipolar disorder and other mental illness, had been found unfit for trial following a series of evaluations last year.
Dennis Rodeman, 35, was struck and killed in September, 2015, at the intersection of Cedar and Jolly roads while collecting donations for Fill the Boot — an annual fundraising campaign for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and International Association of Firefighters.
Taylor, who was 22 at the time, told police he was angry with the firefighters whose charitable efforts were slowing
traffic. He fled following the crash and, according to police, expressed no remorse about what he'd done.
Court records show Taylor's mother had petitioned Ingham County Probate Court twice the two years leading up to the incident to involuntarily hospitalize him for mental health reasons.
Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero called Rodeman, a seven-year veteran of LFD who also served in the U.S. Marine Corps, "a hero twice over" — calling his death "a senseless, unthinkable tragedy" that shocked the community.
Rodeman's wife was pregnant with their first child at the time of his death.