Terence Hollis, a 32-year-old Black man, was shot once in the chest in the parking lot outside the Chicken Coop restaurant on South Division Avenue in Grand Rapids on March 22, 2015. The dispute began as a fistfight inside the restaurant and continued outside, where a friend transported Hollis to a local hospital; he later died of his injuries.

Police investigation focused on 21-year-old Shaquille Bunting. He was first arrested and charged with perjury in April 2015 for giving false statements to investigators; in January 2016 prosecutors added open murder, weapon possession by a felon, and a felony firearm charge. Prosecutors contended Bunting believed Hollis had struck his sister during the fight; the sister testified Bunting confessed, saying he shot Hollis because Hollis had hit her.

At trial a jury convicted Bunting of second-degree murder. The judge found evidence that a handgun had been pressed against Hollis’s back and fired, causing a contact wound, and imposed concurrent prison terms with a lengthy minimum. Did anyone who knew Hollis or witnessed the altercation see events that haven’t been made part of the record?