MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, Mich. — Two years to the day a 17-year-old was shot and killed on the way to his high school basketball banquet, his friends took time Saturday to honor his memory.
The teens met in the exact spot, near Rotterdam Avenue and Fifth Street, where Marquis Gresham was gunned down. Gresham's friends lit candles and shared memories of the hoops star.
Gresham, who was a Muskegon Heights junior and varsity basketball players, was killed in a drive-by, according to police. He was shot during what witnesses had described as a fight among six or seven people.
Saturday night, friends of the teen said violence like that has to stop in their community where it remains too prevalent.
"He was a very important person to Muskegon Heights," said Shanell Sullivan, who organized Saturday's vigil. "He did a lot to the school, he's a fellow classmate of mine so it's important that he's always remembered because he's always going to be remembered by me."
One of the men involved in Gresham's death, Ryheim Beasley, was sentenced last October to between 16-35 years in prison. Police said Beasley admitted to driving the car used during the shooting.
A second person, Shundarius Zekia Lawson pleaded no contest last year to second degree murder in the case.
