Genesee County Jury Convicts Man in 2012 Fatal Shooting of Pennsylvania Teen

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton announced Wednesday that a jury returned a guilty verdict in the 2012 murder of 16-year-old Joshua Stepp of Pennsylvania.

Kiunda John Burress, 31, was found guilty of six felonies including Felony Murder, Second Degree Murder, Armed Robbery, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and Felony Firearm related to the shooting death of Stepp on June 11, 2012.

According to testimony at the trial, Stepp lived in Pennsylvania and was in Genesee County to help a friend move. At one point during his visit, Stepp was left at a mobile home trailer while the friend attended a funeral. While Stepp was waiting for his friend to return, Burress stopped over to buy marijuana from one of the residents and ended robbing the drug dealer and shooting Stepp in the process. Burress turned himself in a few days later and admitted to being present at the residence but denied shooting Stepp.

Leyton said "this was an especially tragic case involving a very young man who was visiting from Pennsylvania in order to lend a hand to a friend. He ended up losing his life simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Burress had been previously convicted and served time for bank robbery and receiving and concealing stolen property. A sentencing date has been scheduled for March 25, 2014.