3 charged with murder of Family Dollar security guard over face mask dispute
FLINT MI May 5 2020 Three people are charged with the murder of a Family Dollar security officer in Flint last week, who got into an altercation over wearing face masks in the store.
Two men remain at large while a woman has been arrested and is awaiting arraignment in the Genesee County Jail.
The male suspects are 44-year-old Larry Edward Teague and 23-year-old Ramonyea Bishop. Teague’s wife and Bishop’s mother, 45-year-old Sharmel Teague, has been arrested.
All three suspects are facing a charge of first-degree premeditated murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole if they are convicted.
Larry Teague and Bishop also are facing several weapons charges while Teague faces an additional charge of violating Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order to wear face coverings in enclosed public spaces.
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said Sharmel Teague and her daughter went in the Family Dollar at 877 E. Fifth St. in Flint around 1:40 p.m. Friday. Teague was wearing a mask, but her daughter was not.
While inside, security officer Calvin Munerlyn confronted Sharmel Teague about not wearing a face mask.
Governor Whitmer issued an order in April requiring everyone entering an enclosed space to wear a face mask or covering over their nose and mouth to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Family Dollar has adopted that as a store policy for customers.
Sharmel Teague and Munerlyn got into an argument about the policy. Leyton said Sharmel Teague spit at Munerlyn, who then ordered her to leave the store and told the cashier to refuse service to her.
Surveillance video showed Teague and her daughter leaving the store in a red GMC Envoy and enter the nearby River Village Apartments complex. Minutes later, cell phone records show Sharmel Teague made a phone call to Larry Teague, Leyton said.
About 20 minutes after Sharmel and her daughter left the store, Leyton said Larry Teague and Bishop drove the same GMC Envoy to the store.
Leyton said surveillance video shows Larry Teague and Bishop enter the store and start an argument with Munerlyn. Witnesses reported hearing the suspects ask Munerlyn who disrespected his wife.
During the altercation, Leyton said Bishop pulled out a handgun and shot 43-year-old Munerlyn in the head. He was rushed to Hurley Medical Center, where he died later Friday.
Larry Teague and Bishop remained at large on Monday. Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-422-JAIL.
A $1,000 reward is available for information leading to their arrests. Both suspects should be considered armed and dangerous, Leyton said.
“We’re confident that we’ll get them,” he said.
Genesee County Commissioner Bryant Nolden, who is executive director of the Berson Field House in Flint, said Munerlyn was active and beloved at the facility. He called the murder “extremely senseless.”
“He didn’t bother a soul,” Nolden said of Munerlyn. “All he did was provide for his family.”