Seventeen-year-old James King, a senior at East Kentwood High School, was shot and killed on January 13, 2019, in the parking lot of the Towne and Country Shopping Center at Kalamazoo Avenue and 44th Street SE in Grand Rapids. The meeting had been arranged over social media as a marijuana sale but was actually a setup to rob him. King and his cousin walked to the shopping center; five classmates arrived in a car — Ahmed Hasan, Kayleb Sims, Alanah Claflin, Israel Valdez, and Sebastian Quinones. King got into the backseat, a struggle broke out when Valdez tried to take the drugs, and Valdez shot King in the face. King was pushed from the car and left in his cousin’s arms while the five fled.

All five were arrested and later entered plea deals. Israel Valdez was sentenced to 23 to 50 years for second-degree murder plus two years for a felony firearm charge. Sebastian Quinones received 15 to 40 years for armed robbery; Alanah Claflin received 10 to 40 years for armed robbery. Kayleb Sims and Ahmed Hasan were sentenced to five years probation and one year in the Kent County Jail with credit for time served. Family members confronted the defendants at sentencing, expressing grief and anger; all but one apologized to King’s family.

Does anyone have additional information about King’s life or the events that night that could help provide more context?