LANSING – One of two people charged in a 2022 Lansing murder case pleaded guilty Wednesday in Ingham County Circuit Court to a murder charge.
Marquell Hopkins, 20, pleaded no contest to second-degree murder in connection with the shooting of Kalen Mathews, 19, in the 900 block of Bensch Street. A sentencing agreement calls for his minimum sentence to be in a range of 12 to 20 years.
Ingham County Circuit Judge Jim Jamo set sentencing for Dec. 4. Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
In exchange for Hopkins’ no-contest plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss an open murder charge and the remaining weapons charges against him.
Hopkins and his co-defendant, Catrell Shelton, were both 17 at the time of the shooting and were charged in adult court. A plea hearing for Shelton is scheduled for Oct. 18.
Mathews was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene on May 6, 2022. He died of a gunshot wound to the chest.
According to a series of facts read into the record Wednesday, a fatally injured Mathews was found on the ground outside the open rear passenger door of a car. A teenage witness who had been in the car gave different versions of what happened.
Bullet damage was found both inside and outside the vehicle. Shots were fired from two guns owned by Hopkins and Shelton.
Mathews had a firearm that had not been fired. That weapon was found under his body.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj.
This article originally appeared in Lansing State Journal: Lansing man pleads no contest to 2022 shooting death
