GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN —U.S. Attorney Mark Totten announced today that U.S. District Court Judge Jane M. Beckering sentenced Deshay Malory, age 30, of Kalamazoo, to 120 months in federal prison for possessing a loaded, stolen firearm as a convicted felon in connection with cocaine dealing, one week after he fired at a car with two children inside, and all while he was on parole from an earlier drug conviction. In imposing the maximum sentence permitted by law, Judge Beckering emphasized the “seriousness of the offense,” and concluded that a “lengthy sentence” was “called for.”
“Malory’s actions put innocent lives in danger,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “While no one was injured, all shootings cause harm. The sudden crack of gunfire drives people to live in fear. It especially harms those present, who are all too often haunted by the jarring realization of what might have happened. My office will prosecute shooters to the fullest extent of the law.”
On April 4, 2022, police responded to a shooting in a Kalamazoo parking lot and learned that Malory had shot at a car with two adults and two children inside, striking a passenger door. Surveillance video from a nearby business confirmed Malory’s responsibility for the shooting. One week later, police arrested Malory in a Kalamazoo convenience store with a loaded, stolen pistol and two plastic baggies of cocaine. In Malory’s car, police found more plastic bags and a digital scale with white residue on it.
“Through strong relationships with our federal partners, the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety stands firm in pursuing violent offenders through targeted enforcement actions,” said Deputy Chief Dave Boysen of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. “Today’s sentencing will send a message that gun violence will not be tolerated in Kalamazoo.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team, and the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick J. Castle.
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