An 18-year-old male, Kris Grant-Alexander, Jr., lost his life on a Pontiac, Michigan sidewalk on the evening of October 9, 2020. The fatal encounter unfolded during what investigators determined was a transaction for less than an ounce of marijuana that had been arranged through the social media platform Snapchat. Grant-Alexander was found with a gunshot wound to his head and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the shooting quickly led to the identification of three suspects. The following day, police arrested 17-year-old Max Keith-John Bastien of Genoa Township. He was a passenger in a vehicle that had brought the suspects to the prearranged meeting. The other two occupants of the car, a 19-year-old male driver from Brighton and a 17-year-old female passenger, were also taken into custody for questioning but were later released pending further investigation. The handgun believed to have been used in the shooting was recovered by detectives.
Accounts from witnesses and acquaintances of Bastien, who were with him that night, indicated that after Grant-Alexander and another individual took the marijuana from the car and walked away, Bastien exited the vehicle and ordered them to stop or he would shoot. A single gunshot was then heard. Bastien was subsequently charged with second-degree murder, felony firearm, and carrying a concealed weapon. He was denied bond.
Ultimately, Max Bastien pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. In December 2022, at the age of 19, he was sentenced to serve a minimum of 18 years and 7 months to a maximum of 40 years in prison. He also received separate sentences for the weapons charges. He was given credit for 730 days already served in custody. There is no publicly available information to suggest that the other two individuals who were with Bastien at the time of the shooting were ever charged in connection with the death of Kris Grant-Alexander, Jr.
