Life sentence for man in slaying of Michigan college student

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – A man convicted of murder in the robbery and death of a Western Michigan University student has been sentenced to life in prison.

Jordan Waire’s no-parole sentence was automatic Monday, weeks after his conviction in Kalamazoo County. A co-defendant, Joeviair Kennedy, was acquitted of murder. He was on Western Michigan’s basketball team when he was arrested.

Nineteen-year-old Jacob Jones was killed in an off-campus apartment in December 2016. Witnesses said Waire and Kennedy burst into Jones’ apartment demanding money and marijuana.

But Waire’s attorney, Michael Oakes, insists that Waire was the victim of courtroom lies. Waire declined to speak to the judge before his sentence. He and Kennedy were teammates at Muskegon High School.

Jones’ mother, Tara Workman, told a judge that her son’s death has been “utterly devastating.”