GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A 29-year-old Grand Rapids man will spend nearly a decade in prison after firing multiple rounds near a large crowd gathered on the city’s Blue Bridge last summer, according to U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey.
Tyrone Kenneth Smith Jr. was among a large group of young people at the bridge on the night of June 22, 2025 when VerHey said he pulled a gun from his waistband and fired four rounds into the air, causing everyone to run away.
Smith Jr., who has been convicted multiple times for firearm offenses, was sentenced Monday to seven-and-a-half years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of ammunition.
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“We chose Smith for federal prosecution on this firearms charge because he has repeatedly refused to abide by laws that say he cannot have a firearm,” VerHey said. “After being convicted no fewer than four times for felony firearms offenses in the State of Michigan, he went out and got himself yet another gun, then took it to a crowded public gathering and fired it off. Through his actions, Smith has told us all that he is a menace to the rest of us, and he cannot be rehabilitated. He deserves the sentence he got today, and we will be watching him when he is eventually allowed out of prison.”…