Two who were teens in '96 shooting will get chance at parole

GRAND RAPIDS (AP) — Two men who were teens when they took part in the robbery and fatal shooting of a store owner will get a chance at freedom.

At the prosecutor’s request, a judge recently reduced the no-parole sentences of Saulo Montalvo, who was the getaway driver, and Christopher Peltier, who grabbed the cash register at the Beer Kooler in Grand Rapids back in 1996.

The extraordinary breaks are a result of U.S. Supreme Court decisions that declared teens must be treated differently than adults in murder cases. No-parole sentences are no longer automatic.

Montalvo now will be eligible for parole in five years. Peltier will need another 15 years.

Prosecutor Bill Forsyth says he opposes a shorter sentence for the man who fatally shot Rodney Corp at the party store.