GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The teen suspect in one of West Michigan's highest profile murder cases of 2024 returned to the courtroom on Thursday.
Cartiyae Pascal, 17, faces open murder and felony firearms charges in connection with the shooting death of Amillier Penn. The teen faced a preliminary hearing on June 10, where prosecutors argued there is a reasonable amount of evidence indicating the suspect likely committed the alleged crime.
Pascal was charged on May 13. He is considered an adult.
At question on Thursday was how investigators definitely tied Pascal to Amillier's homicide.
Detectives cited statements from multiple witnesses to bring the murder charge against Pascal. Those witnesses claimed Pascal admitted to them he killed Penn, according to court documents.
Investigators established Pascal and Penn had fought each other several times before June 2024. One of those fights was recorded, with the video in the hands of police.
A surveillance camera captured the shooting, showing the suspect running after the shots were fired to a home where Pascal lived. Detectives told the judge the video is not clear enough to positively identify Pascal, per court records.
When officers searched Pascal's phone, they found more evidence linking the teen to Penn's death, including pictures and videos of Pascal posing with guns.
61st District Court Judge Timothy O'Neill was convince by the prosecutor's arguments, binding the case over to 17th Circuit Court, which would be the venue of a future trial.
Investigation recap
The shooting happened June 2, 2024, on Umatilla Street near Madison Avenue on the city's southeast side. Investigators have said Penn had been playing a game of football with friends.
FOX 17 spoke with Penn's family in the months following his death. They asked the public to speak up if they knew something about the case.
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A reward was also offered for information leading to an arrest.
The investigation gained renewed interest in April 2025, when it was featured during the first episode of "All Access PD: Grand Rapids" on Investigation Discovery. The series promised an unprecedented level of access inside Grand Rapids' police department.
"There was a significant amount of interest, again, from the community. We got a lot of tips on silent observer and other people contacting us some information that was very helpful," Chief Eric Winstrom said when charges against Pascal were announced.
"It didn't have to be 345 days," said police chief after charges filed in teen's killing
During the episode, investigators revealed they had been focused on Pascal as a potential suspect for months.
However detectives were frustrated by a lack of evidence and witness testimony that could tie Pascal to Penn's murder.
"It didn't have to be 345 days. If every adult, at least in the city, did what was the morally responsible thing, this case would have been wrapped up a lot sooner," Winstrom said.
Then on September 1, 2024, another shooting gave police reason to arrest Pascal. The shooting outside a southeast convenience store was captured by security cameras, showing Pascal allegedly firing multiple times at a person who walked out of the store.
"I think it was very helpful for people to realize that the primary suspect was incarcerated, it did not pose a threat to anyone else," Detective Tony Leonard said. "A genuine concern of people coming forward is the threat of reprisal, knowing that he was jailed and seeing that Justice had not yet been fulfilled. I think that was very helpful."
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Pascal is also criminally charged in the September shooting.
