Inset, left to right: Savanah Villarreal (WOOD), Rafael Martinez-Lopez (Kent County Jail), and Jeremiah Cuevas-Griffin (WXMI). Background: The playground in Michigan where Villarreal and Cuevas-Griffin were killed (WWMT).
A Michigan mother of seven was fatally shot in front of her teenage son after telling an armed man, "We told him we just asked to play soccer," moments before he opened fire during an argument over a pickup game, prosecutors say.
Rafael Martinez-Lopez, 18, was ordered to stand trial Monday on two counts of open murder and multiple weapons charges in the May 5 shooting deaths of 15-year-old Jeremiah Cuevas-Griffin and 38-year-old Savanah Villarreal, according to court records and local reports.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Martinez-Lopez allegedly confronted a group of children and teenagers outside Southwest Elementary School after his younger brother was turned away from a pickup soccer game. Police say the confrontation escalated into gunfire, killing Jeremiah Cuevas-Griffin before Villarreal was shot after stepping in to defend the teen.
At Monday's preliminary examination, Villarreal's teenage son described the moments leading up to the gunfire, testifying that he and his sister had approached Martinez-Lopez's younger brother and another boy to ask if they could join the soccer game, Grand Rapids NBC affiliate WOOD and MLive reported.
Martinez-Lopez's younger brother and his friend reportedly said no, so the teens returned home to get their own soccer ball. When they came back, Martinez-Lopez had arrived at the park and began questioning whether the group intended to fight his younger brother.
"We told him we just wanted to play soccer," Villarreal's son testified.
According to the teen, Martinez-Lopez walked a few steps before pulling out a handgun. The teenager said he sprinted home to get his father, believing only his friend had been shot.
"He had walked up a few steps and then that was when he pulled out the gun," the witness testified. "I told my dad I had seen Jeremiah fall, so I assumed he would be dead. I didn't know if anybody else is shot so I just called my dad and told him Jeremiah got shot."
It wasn't until they returned to the school that he realized his mother had also been struck.
Another eyewitness, a 14-year-old girl who recorded part of the shooting on her cellphone, fought back tears as she testified about the chaos.
"As soon as I seen the gun, I ducked down under by the car," she testified.
Moments later, she watched Jeremiah collapse.
"I thought, 'He's down — he's dead,'" the girl testified. "After looking at Jeremiah, I seen Savanah fall down … so I knew she was hit."
Prosecutors reportedly played a 19-second cellphone video in court that allegedly showed Martinez-Lopez pulling a handgun from his waistband before opening fire, leaving family members weeping in the gallery. Martinez-Lopez kept his head down for much of the hearing, according to MLive.
Martinez-Lopez's younger brother also testified, reportedly claiming he became frightened after the initial encounter because he believed one of the other youths had lifted a shirt to suggest there was a weapon.
"Someone pulled up their shirt, and it looked like they had something, but I didn't see it that good," he testified, according to MLive.
The boy said he ran home to get his older brother. After the shooting, he testified, they returned home, "locked the doors and watched movies" while Martinez-Lopez told him to stay quiet.
Another teenager testified Martinez-Lopez appeared to be "looking for a fight" before the shooting, MLive reported.
After Monday's hearing, Judge Kellen Dotson found sufficient evidence to bind the case over to Kent County Circuit Court for trial.
WOOD reported that plea negotiations are ongoing, though prosecutors said no formal offer has been made to the defense.
Martinez-Lopez remains charged with two counts of open murder, carrying a weapon with unlawful intent, carrying a concealed weapon, possessing a firearm in a weapon-free school zone and two counts of felony firearm. His next court appearance has not yet been scheduled.
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