Prosecutor charges three with murder of Michigan security guard killed in dispute over masks

A Michigan prosecutor charged three people with murder on Monday over the death of a security guard who was fatally shot over an alleged dispute over whether masks had to be worn in a Family Dollar store .

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton announced that Romonyea Bishop, 23, Larry Teague, 44, and Sharmel Teague, 45, had been charged with first-degree murder following the Friday shooting of Calvin Munerlyn, 43.

Munerlyn, who worked as a security guard at a Family Dollar in Flint, had instructed Sharmel Teague’s daughter, who was unnamed in the release, to wear a mask inside the store to prevent the spread of coronavirus, according to the prosecutor’s release.

“From all indications, Mr. Munerlyn was simply doing his job in upholding the governor’s executive order related to the COVID-19 pandemic for the safety of store employees and customers,” Leyton said in the release. 

Police are still seeking Larry Teague and Bishop, while Sharmel Teague was in custody on Monday afternoon awaiting arraignment. 

Leyton said in the release that Sharmel Teague and Munerlyn “got into a verbal altercation” at about 1:40 p.m. after he said her daughter needed to wear a mask in the store. Teague reportedly was yelling at the security guard and spit at him, prompting Munerlyn to tell the cashier not to serve her.

Later, Sharmel Teague’s husband and son, Larry Teague and Bishop, arrived at the store, and Bishop allegedly shot Munerlyn in the back of the head. Munerlyn was transported to Hurley Medical Center where he was declared dead.

A vigil was held for Munerlyn on Sunday night, and a GoFundMe page has raised more than $10,000 for his family, NBC News reported. 

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has ordered that all people wear masks in enclosed public spaces, one of several orders that have been challenged by protests in the state in recent weeks by those who think pandemic prevention measures have gone too far.