Man gets minimum 15-year prison term in killing of man in Lansing's Reutter Park

LANSING — The triggerman in the fatal shooting of Lewis Hill in downtown Lansing's Reutter Park last year was sent to prison for a minimum of 15 years on Monday.

Jacob Floyd Curtis, 25, said he made "a terrible decision" and apologized for his actions before Ingham County Circuit Judge Joyce Draganchuk gave him 15 to 30 years for armed robbery and a concurrent 8 to 15 years for manslaughter.

Armed robbery is a maximum life prison offense, and the fixed minimum of 15 years was negotiated as part of an agreement in which Curtis pleaded no contest last month.

Draganchuk said she decided to go along with the sentencing deal, even though she wondered at the time if it was "a little too lenient." Sitting through a trial for Curtis' co-defendant, Kelley Tyrone Whitt, helped her understand Curtis got "caught up in something" not of his making, the judge said Monday.

Hill, 48, was shot and killed on May 7, 2023, in the park along South Capitol Avenue in downtown Lansing, about a two-block walk from the state Capitol.

Whitt and Curtis were arrested several weeks later and charged with murder. The two weapons reportedly involved in the incident were not recovered. Whitt was convicted of first-degree, felony murder, armed robbery and various weapons offenses after a jury trial last month.

Witnesses testified that Whitt climbed out of the passenger seat of a car carrying a long gun and demanded money from Hill. A tussle ensued, and Whitt yelled, "Shoot him, shoot him," before Curtis got out of the car with a handgun and shot Hill.

Ronald Berry, Curtis' attorney, said his client is "truly sorry" for his actions and accepts responsibility for "some extremely stupid decisions." He also noted that Curtis had no history of violence.

Curtis will get 471 days credit for time served.

Whitt will get mandatory life in prison without chance of parole when he goes before Draganchuk for sentencing next month.

Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com . Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Man gets minimum 15-year prison term in killing of man in Lansing's Reutter Park