KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) — A Kalamazoo 19-year-old will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was found guilty of murdering another Kalamazoo teen.
It took the Kalamazoo Circuit Court jury less than 4 hours to find Nasi Ben-Yaisrael guilty of first-degree murder for the Jan. 2 shooting death of Kalamazoo Central High School senior DeShontae Ellis.
The 18-year-old victim was reluctant to make the trip to the Red Roof Inn in Oshtemo, but was doing a favor for three girls who wanted to go to a party there.
Ellis was trying to be a peacemaker and then just trying to leave when Ben-Yaisrael shot him, Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting said.
The first-degree murder verdict and conviction on a gun charge means that on Oct. 31, after Ben-Yaisrael is sentenced, he will serve two years in prison for possession of a firearm during a felony. When that term is over, he begin a sentence of life without parole.
