Robert Quinton Wray Jr., a 34-year-old male, was fatally shot on the evening of August 18, 2016, in Lansing, Michigan. The incident occurred in the front yard of a residence on the city's south side, where Wray was discovered unresponsive. He was transported to Sparrow Hospital, where he was pronounced dead as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. An autopsy would later reveal that Wray had been shot six times, with the fatal wound being to his head.
The investigation into the shooting
led police to Carl Marshle Price, then 23 years old. The confrontation between the two men, who were not previously acquainted, began earlier in the evening. Wray had been driving through a neighborhood where Price and a group of friends were playing basketball in the street. According to Price's statement to police, Wray was driving fast and nearly struck him with his vehicle. Later that evening, Wray returned to the area dressed in all black and carrying a 9 mm handgun.
What followed was a significant exchange of gunfire. Evidence presented at trial showed that shell casings from three different firearms—.45 caliber, 9 mm, and. 40 caliber—were recovered from the scene. The. 45 caliber gun was registered to Price and was found at the location of the shooting. The 9 mm firearm was found underneath Wray's body. The forensic pathologist determined that the fatal shot to Wray's head and a wound to his back were from a. 45 caliber weapon. Price reportedly admitted to shooting Wray while he was already on the ground.
Price was arrested and initially charged with open murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Following a jury trial, he was convicted of the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter and felony-firearm. For his crimes, the court sentenced him to a prison term of 86 to 180 months for the voluntary manslaughter conviction, to be served consecutively with a two-year sentence for the felony-firearm conviction. Price later appealed his conviction, arguing that he acted in self-defense, but the verdict was affirmed.
