ALLEGED ARMED ROBBER TURNS DOWN BERRIEN COUNTY PLEA DEAL

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
NILES – Edward Deontae Turner, facing 13 felony counts including armed robbery, turned down a plea offer from the Berrien County Prosecutor’s Office last week. The Berrien Springs man will go on trial later this summer for a string of armed robberies. The trial is scheduled to start September 10 at the Niles Courthouse.
Turner, 39, faces 13 felony counts in total, including 4 counts of armed robbery, 4 counts of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, 4 counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and 1 count of receiving, concealing, or possession of a stolen weapon. If convicted, he would also face a charge of being a habitual offender.
Berrien County Trial Court Judge Gordon Hosbein reminded Turner Monday that this was his last opportunity to accept the plea offer. The plea offer would have had him plead guilty to 6 counts and not face the habitual offender additional count.
Assistant Prosecutor Myrene Koch said the offer was of a guideline range of 171 to 285 months. If convicted at trial of all the counts, he faces a guideline range of 225 months to 750 months up to life in prison with an additional 2 year prison term for the felony firearm charges.

The incidents occurred between June 25 and Nov. 14 of last year. The June 25 armed robbery was at the Dollar General in Oronoko Township, the Sept. 6 incident at the Dollar General in Royalton Township, the Oct. 10 incident at the Dollar General in Benton Township and the Nov. 14 incident at the BP gas station in Oronoko Township.
During a preliminary hearing last year, employees of the different stores each described the robber as wearing a mask and brandishing a gun. They were each threatened with being shot and told to get money out of cash registers and safes. The robber took the money and ran out of the stores.
The 4 employees said they did not see the robber’s face due to the mask but 3 said they could see his skin was black. One person said she recognized Turner’s eyes and identified him in the courtroom, while another person said he would recognize the man’s voice if he heard it again.
The police report on the incidents described the suspect, his weapon, the vehicle he was driving, and a gray backpack he had in the Sept. 6 and Oct. 10 incidents. The description of a vehicle in the Oct. 10 incident led police to find the vehicle and place a GPS tracker on it.
Turner was arrested after the Nov. 14 incident on M-139 near Red Bud Trail. A search of his residence found a gun, disposable gloves, and a bank bag stolen from the BP gas station. A search of his vehicle uncovered the gray backpack.
         In other action last week, a Grand Rapids man involved in a break-in at a Buchanan marijuana dispensary was sentenced to probation, community service, and thousands of dollars in restitution.
Deandre Montray Griggs, 22, of Grand Rapids, pleaded guilty to breaking and entering and was sentenced to two years probation, credit for 60 days in jail, 80 hours of community service, $10,214.76 in restitution and $678 in fines and costs. “You made a bad decision,” Judge Hosbein told Griggs. “This was a stupid decision. It was stupid, and you did a lot of damage.”
The incident occurred Dec. 5, 2024 at the Zen Leaf dispensary on Front Street in Buchanan. Griggs and two co-defendants, Antoine Cooper and Anthony Hunter, broke into the establishment. Both co-defendants have pleaded guilty with one already sentenced.
Defense attorney Carri Briseno noted that Griggs does not have any prior record and was 21 at the time of the incident. She said that Griggs has his high school diploma. “He is in a position where he can be successful,” she said.