GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – India Buchanan said she feels ‘partly’ relieved after police informed her a suspect is in custody for her son’s murder.
Devonte Warren, 17, was arrested for the crime and arraigned in 61st District Court, Friday morning.
The side door on Buchanan’s home serves as a constant reminder of where her son Gregory Woods Jr., 18, took his last breath.
“Apparently, the person knocked on this door. When my son opened it, when he opened the door, as soon as he stepped right here it was like 5 or 6 shots, we thought they were coming in,” she illustrated.
“One [bullet] caught him in the heart, the back, and I think they said the arm,” Buchanan said.
For nearly 6 months bullet holes in the door have remained visible, and for 6 months there have been no answers as to who pulled the trigger.
“It’s been like hell. It’s still been threats going around. It’s still been gangbanging, still been violence going around,” Buchanan said.
She said her son was a gang member with the “Bemis Boys,” but he didn’t deserve to be murdered. After checking-in with detectives every other week, a break in the case finally came.
“When we got the news about a suspect, we was relief… a little bit [sic],” she said.
Captain Jeffrey Hertel with the Grand Rapids Police Department said, “[Warren] was on the radar on this case almost immediately.”
However, Hertel said the department needed people to talk in order to tie Warren to the crime. Warren has been in jail since January 15th for other crimes, including perjury, armed robbery, and attempted murder. To solidify Warren’s role in Woods’ death, Hertel said it took investigative subpoenas to people under oath so they could to tell the truth.
“It has been very successful. We’ve gotten a lot of cooperation in this case and other cases, and that’s the only way we get to where we are right now,” Hertel explained.
As police arrested suspect after suspect for the nine murders that occurred from mid-December to mid-Janaury, Buchanan said she never lost faith in her son’s unsolved case. She agrees that it takes cooperation from the public.
“If you know something, tell someone,” Buchanan said.
She added, “The murders have to stop. It’s terrible it’s all these young ones, and the majority of all these murders is either drugs or gang violence. And my son was gang violence.”
Warren is being held in the Kent County Jail without bond. His next court date is in the coming weeks.
Now only two of the nine murders from December and January remain unsolved. The first is the murder of Roybin Griggs-Johnson. She’s the mother of nine that was shot and killed in her home on Prince Street on December 14th. At least 5 of her kids were at home when it happened. A local radio station generated a $1,000 reward to help catch the murderer. That case remains unsolved.
The second case is Eve’Vana Galloway. The 20-year-old was shot and killed in her apartment on December 15th. Police believe her case is tied to the murder of Madhi Hayes. He was killed on December 20th. The suspect in that case is Hayes’ half-brother Royale Gold Runyon. Runyon is in jail now. Galloway’s killing remains unsolved.
Anyone with information on either of the unsolved cases is asked to call Silent Observer at 616-774-2345.
