2 Men Sentenced In Pontiac Party Bus Slayings
PONTIAC (WWJ/AP) - A judge has sentenced two men in the fatal shootings of two people who were riding on a crowded party bus in Pontiac.
Craig Lewis, of Taylor, received a 40- to 80-year sentence. Lerrick Myers, of Pontiac, was sentenced to 25 to 70 years in prison.
A jury found the 23-year-old Lewis guilty of second-degree murder, larceny and gun charges. The 21-year-old Myers pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Sheriff Michael Bouchard said snippets of surveillance tape picked up the suspects on an apparent crime rampage before the shooting.
An investigation revealed that, two hours prior to the shooting, on May 13, 2012, both men were involved in an argument inside Porky's Bikini Bar with two patrons, robbed one of them of $300 in cash, and tried to rob the bar's manager.
Unaware of the robbery, security escorted all four men out of the building. In the parking lot, a fight broke out. One patron went to his car to get a gun and was disarmed.
Officials said witnesses on the party bus started yelling when they saw what happened.
That's when shots were fired at the bus, fatally striking passengers 28-year-old Anthony Ellis and 19-year-old Shuntrice Sylvester, both of Detroit.
Lewis was out on parole after serving three years in prison for another shooting.
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