WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI – A woman charged in connection with the death of a man who was broadcasting his beef with his soon-to-be killers has been sentenced to probation for her role in the crime.
Washtenaw County Trial Judge Carol Kuhnke sentenced Martita Bonner, Sept. 19, to serve two years on probation after pleading guilty to one felony count of being an accessory after the fact to a felony, court records show.
In pleading guilty, her charge of conspiracy to commit open murder was dismissed.
Martita Bonner, 41, was one on five people charged in the slaying of Terrell Smith who was fatally shot while broadcasting himself live on his Facebook page.
Related: Trash talk online led to men killing man live on Facebook, testimony reveals
Her other codefendants have also accepted plea deals in the case and are scheduled for sentencing each at a later date.
Codefendants and accused shooters Shereif Bonner, 24, Tyree Pitts, 18, and Coreyon Joseph Brown, 19, each pleaded guilty to their roles in the slaying with Pitts and Brown pleading guilty to second-degree murder, court records show.
Codefendants who did not shot at Smith, Andre Walker, 26, and Jermia Castion, 25, pleaded guilty for their roles in the shooting they claim they thought was going to be a street fight and nothing more.
Martita Bonner, who is Shereif Bonner’s aunt, testified during the preliminary examination that she knew a fight was going to happen and traveled along with him and others to where Smith was to record the fight, she said.
She agreed to testify against her nephew after striking a deal with prosecutors.
Castion, who accepted an identical deal, also testified she drove the car used in the fatal shooting.
Police were called at 11 a.m. June 28, 2022, to the area of Nash Avenue and Tyler Road in Ypsilanti Township’s West Willow neighborhood for multiple reports of shots fired in the area.
Deputies arrived and found one gunshot victim, Smith, who was taken to an area hospital for emergency medical treatment, police said. Smith later died from his injuries.
Investigators searched the area and found spent shell casings from three different firearms and multiple gunshot holes in and around the property, police testified.
In total, deputies collected four 9mm shells, six 5.7-caliber shells and 19 spent 7.62-caliber rifle cartridges.
Smith, under the name Rell, would routinely broadcast himself chatting with followers while riffing about Ypsilanti and whatever was on his mind, according to previous videos posted on his Facebook pages.
In the video he was broadcasting at the time of the shooting, Smith was sitting in a chair outside the home talking about Ypsilanti before saying “we got action” and standing up from his seat.
Shortly after Smith stood up and took a few steps, a hail of gunfire can be heard for several seconds before the camera faces the sky and continues to broadcast and record a man calling 911.
Investigators found a Ring Doorbell camera in the area that recorded the shooting and later identified three vehicles owned by the group after reviewing the video and checking traffic cameras in the area, police testified.
The vehicles, a white Ford Fusion, a black Ford Fusion and a red Cadillac SUV, belonged to the Bonners and Castion, respectively.
Martita Bonner said the group decided to confront Smith for his words online and planned to convoy together to his location, which was eventually tracked down by her and Castion, she said.
Before going to the West Willow home, the group made a stop at Shereif Bonner’s apartment where he retrieved a gun, she said.
She said she didn’t say anything to him about the gun, but gave him a look of “absolutely not,” she said.
The group then went to the Nash address and, as Martita Bonner was pulling ahead of the red SUV to get a good spot to record the fight, she heard her nephew say, “what’s up,” then gunshots, she said.
Prosecutors claim the shooters were Shereif Bonner, Pitts and Brown, though nobody testified to directly seeing them doing the shooting.
Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page or sign up for the free “3@3 Ann Arbor” daily newsletter.
More from The Ann Arbor News:
Bonsai trees worth $1,500 stolen from Michigan Medicine student
Ann Arbor digging in deeper on costs of DTE takeover versus alternatives
Video shows Michigan State Police trooper clinging to fleeing vehicle
