KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A man convicted in the death of an infant in Kalamazoo will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The sentence was handed down the morning of Monday, December 16th at the Kalamazoo County Courthouse. Under state law and sentencing guidelines, he received a mandatory life sentence for his murder conviction and will also serve 25 to 40 years in prison for first-degree child abuse.
On November 21st, a jury found Rolland guilty of first-degree felony murder and first-degree child abuse in the death of Jaceyon Downing.
The verdict came after a year-long investigation and multiple changes in Rolland’s account of what happened.
Rolland was babysitting Jaceyon and his 3-year-old brother Keegan at his apartment on West Vine Street in Kalamazoo on August 23rd, 2017. Court documents show that Rolland was also watching six of his own children when the incident happened because his wife was at work.
According to a later autopsy report, Jaceyon’s cause of death was abusive head trauma. The infant was taken to Bronson Methodist Hospital, where he later died from his injuries four days later on August 27th.
Rolland later changed his story saying he passed out while holding the infant and fell down the stairs. He was charged by police for murder of the infant in March of 2018 and taken into custody.
