On a tragic Friday afternoon, May 5, 2017, the life of 23-year-old D'Andre Terrell Dean Bullis Sr. was cut short in a burst of gunfire. The young man, a resident of Wyoming, Michigan, and a father to two boys, was with his cousin, Manuel Villarreal, outside a hair salon on Grandville Avenue SW in Grand Rapids when the fatal encounter occurred. Several shots were fired, striking Bullis in the head and wounding his cousin in the leg.
Villarreal, who was 26 at the time, survived the attack.
The investigation into the shooting moved swiftly, and a day after the incident, police arrested 22-year-old Andy Gonzalez. While an initial search for the suspect was unsuccessful, three arrests were eventually made in connection with the double shooting. Gonzalez, who had an extensive criminal record that included drug and weapons offenses, was subsequently charged with the murder of Bullis and the attempted murder of Villarreal.
The case proceeded to trial in Kent County Circuit Court. Prosecutors sought a first-degree murder conviction, which would have carried a mandatory life sentence. However, the jury convicted Gonzalez of the lesser charge of second-degree murder, as well as attempted murder. During the sentencing, the courtroom was filled with raw emotion as friends and family of Bullis expressed their profound grief and anger. The mother of Bullis's two children and Bullis's own mother both delivered powerful statements, condemning Gonzalez for his actions.
The judge handed down a lengthy sentence of 65½ to 100 years for the second-degree murder conviction, along with a concurrent sentence of 35 to 100 years for attempted murder and a mandatory two years for using a firearm during a felony. The judge's intent was to ensure Gonzalez would likely not be eligible for parole until he was around 90 years old. However, this sentence was later appealed. The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that the judge's sentencing was improperly influenced by Gonzalez's decision to go to trial instead of accepting a plea deal. While the convictions were upheld, the sentences for second-degree murder and attempted murder were vacated, and the case was sent back for resentencing before a new judge.
