Getaway Driver in Detroit Playground Shooting Sentenced to 18 to 40 Years
DETROIT, Mich. — Wayne County Third Circuit Judge Chandra Baker-Robinson sentenced William Wheeler, 20, of Detroit to 18 to 40 years in prison on November 6 at the Wayne County Criminal Justice Center for driving the getaway car in a 2025 playground shooting.
Wheeler pleaded guilty in October under a plea agreement to two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of felony firearm.
The shooting occurred on June 27, 2025, at Skinner Playground on Detroit's east side, killing Samir Grubbs, 4, and Daviyon Shelmonson-Bey, 18. Prosecutors said Samir was struck before he had even climbed the ladder of a slide.
Wheeler was driving for Brandon Ware, also 20. Ware allegedly believed that someone who had pulled off his ski mask on a bus was present at the playground and opened fire on the crowd. Ware pleaded guilty in October to two counts of first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder and other charges, and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 13.
The judge wept briefly before sentencing, saying the case had taken two young lives.
Source: Detroit Free Press
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 底特律市景（Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0）
