A sentencing date of Jan. 11 has been set for Marty Kime, found guilty last week of second-degree murder in the Kent drive-by shooting of 1-year-old Malijha Grant in April 2015.
A King County Superior Court jury also found Kime guilty of two counts of first-degree assault for firing shots at the parents of Malijha, whose father was the intended target in a gang-retaliation shooting near Lake Fenwick Road and Reith Road, according to prosecutors.
Judge Johanna Bender and the attorneys were unable to set a sentencing date for Kime after the jury verdict Nov. 8 in Kent because police and corrections officers swarmed to Kime and Martrice Grant-Walker, the girl’s father, to keep them apart in the courtroom after the judge read the verdict.
Kime, 27, faces a sentence of 41 to 54 years in prison, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Kime, whose hometown listings include Seattle and Auburn, pleaded not guilty to the charges in January 2016. He didn’t speak to detectives about the shooting after his arrest and he didn’t take the stand during his trial, which began Sept. 10.
The judge will consider recommendations from prosecutors and the defense attorneys before she sentences Kime.
Kime and Grant-Walker were members of rival Seattle gangs during the shooting in Kent. A bullet struck and killed Malijha as she sat in her car seat in the back seat of a car driven by her mother Lisa Lynch with Grant-Walker riding in the front passenger seat.
Police never found the gun. Prosecutors believe a second man was in the car with Kime, but that man has not been identified or arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of Malijha.
Investigators plan to work all avenues of this case in order to bring everyone involved in this crime to justice, according to a Kent Police media release on Monday about the verdict.
“Even with the insurmountable barriers that investigators had to overcome during this investigation, they remained determined to ensure the ultimate goal of obtaining justice for baby Malijha and her family; I think it is fair to say, we were able to accomplish that,” Kent Police Chief Rafael Padilla said.
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