Pontiac man pleads no contest to fatal shooting of Lyft driver
Kara BergA Pontiac man pleaded no contest last week to fatally shooting a Lyft driver and mother of three in 2022 in Pontiac and is set to be sentenced in June.
Kemarrie Phillips, 20, shot 49-year-old Dina Terrell in the back of the head as she sat in the driver's seat, according to police, who found her body in her vehicle at about 5:15 a.m. Oct. 21, 2022. She had ended up on the curb between a utility pole and a street sign.
Phillips pleaded no contest April 23 to second-degree murder and felony firearm. A no contest plea is treated as a guilty plea for sentencing, but means the defendant either doesn't remember the crime or is concerned about potential civil liability.
No civil lawsuits have been filed yet in federal court or Oakland County Circuit Court.
Police received reports that a man was spotted running away from the scene. They found the Lyft app in Terrell's vehicle running with directions to an address on the northeast side of Pontiac, according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.
Phillips is set to be sentenced June 25 in Oakland County Circuit Court. He faces up to life in prison, with a consecutive two-year sentence for the felony firearm charge.
At a vigil to remember Terrell in October 2022, her family described her as a "giver," a mother of three and grandmother of five, who was always there for her loved ones while juggling jobs as a graphic artist, bartender and a ride share driver for Lyft.
"It's unfair," said Chenita Graviette, 49, of Oak Park, one of Terrell's sisters. "There needs to be something in place to protect these drivers. There's no panic button or anything."
kberg@detroitnews.com