Two brothers featured on an upcoming episode of CNN’s “The Hunt with John Walsh” — who spent nearly nine years on the run after the murder of a Grand Rapids, Michigan, man — have been convicted and sentenced to prison.
In March, a Grand Rapids jury convicted Juan Reyes of second degree murder in the 2007 shooting death of 22-year-old Ryan Pollok. The jury also found Reyes guilty of a charge of assault with intent to murder and a felony firearm possession. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Eric Reyes Santiago pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to a felony. He testified against his brother. Santiago was sentenced to one year in prison and five years probation.
Juan Reyes shot and killed Pollok at a party where the brothers had randomly stopped after taking part in a shootout at a gas station.
They asked party goers if they’d seen a red van that had been driven by another gunman in the shootout.
Then, the host of the party asked the brothers to turn down the music in their car. When Pollok leaned down to the brothers’ car to see what was going on, Reyes shot him, witnesses said.
The brothers then left the party, ditched their car, went home, quickly packed some clothes and fled, police said.
Reyes and his brother were thought to have fled to Guadalajara, Mexico, where they had family connections, police said. Last November, Mexican authorities arrested them there and extradited them to the United States for prosecution.
The random circumstances surrounding Pollok’s killing made his death especially painful for many of his loved ones. His father, Doug Pollok, said his son had been murdered “for no reason.”
He was engaged to be married, had a great job and had “everything ahead of him,” his father said.
The victim
Ryan Pollok
Age: 22
The former fugitives
Juan Reyes
Convicted of second degree murder, assault with intent to murder and felony firearm possession
Sentence: Life in prison
Age: 27
Eric Reyes Santiago
Convicted of being an accessory after the fact to a felony
Sentence: One year in prison
Age: 31
The victim’s mother
Brenda Roos
“Why did they shoot Ryan? Ryan had nothing to do with gangs. He would have no use for gangs.”
“For me personally, they took away a part of me, but for society as a whole, they took away a good influence.”
The victim’s father
Doug Pollok
“Having been in the military, you know what can happen. You know that your child could be killed. But I was never prepared for the thought that my son could just be murdered for no reason.”
The victim’s sister
Genevieve Pollok
“It tore our family apart. It’s like having a four-legged table with one leg cut off.”
