Man pleads guilty to deadly 2023 Kentwood hotel shooting
Ateivise Smith pleaded guilty last week to second-degree murder and a weapons charge. The judge indicated he would issue a sentence of 13 years in prison, but Smith has yet to be sentenced. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May, according to Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker.
, 22, of Georgia, was at the Delta Hotel on 28th Street and E Beltline Avenue just before 7 p.m. on March 4, 2023. He had been shot five times in a second-floor hallway, including three times in the back, according to police.
Police: Gang called out man online before deadly shooting
Garrett had been living in Atlanta but had returned to his hometown of Grand Rapids for the first birthday party of his son, which was held at the hotel.
Officers found six .40-caliber shell casings in the hallway, which matched a Glock handgun that Smith later dropped while running from Grand Rapids police in May 2023 during an unrelated incident. Hotel surveillance footage showed Smith wearing a ski mask and clutching the front of his waistband, leaving the hotel through the front lobby on the night Garrett was killed.
In court records, Smith was identified as part of the 30boyz gang, which has been tied to other crimes, the prosecutor said. Before the killing, 30boyz had , asking where to find him and making threats, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
In August of 2023, the prosecutor wouldn't discuss details of the case, other than to say: 'There was a beef between the two of them.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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