GRAND HAVEN, MI (WHTC) – A 17-year-old accused of fatally stabbing an 18-year-old rival a year ago on Holland’s North side has his pre-trial conference scheduled for today.
Victor Vison Donaldson will begin his four-day trial on August 19 for the stabbing of Ja’Paris Rodgers, 18, on Riley Street in Holland Township a year ago this Friday.
Prosecutors have suggested that gang ties may have played a role in the conflict as Rodgers was a part of the Crips gang, while Donaldson, who was 16 at the time of the stabbing, knew members of the Black Guerrilla Family gang.
Donaldson was ruled competent for trial in May after an Ottawa County Circuit Court judge reviewed a psychiatrist’s report, and was ordered to take medications in addition to being housed at the Hawthorn Center, a psychiatric treatment center located in Northville.
Due to the scheduled start of Donaldson’s murder trial, Ottawa County Circuit Court officials have pushed back the trial of former West Ottawa High teacher and coach Matthew Powell from August 25th to October 21. Powell is facing three misdemeanor CSC counts for alleged inappropriate conduct with a 16-year-old girl earlier this year and was fired by the district in May.
-Gary Stevens
Mary Ellen Murphy, Dan Spadafora contributed to this report.
