A fight between two brothers in a Saginaw front yard ended with one of them shot to death inside his own home just hours later, prosecutors allege. Torrance L. “Bear” McMurren Jr., 36, died from multiple gunshot wounds after a masked gunman burst through his unlocked front door at 2429 N. Bond St. at 10:49 p.m. on April 26, firing three shots in an encounter that lasted no more than 12 seconds.
Prosecutors allege that 37-year-old Donjuan E. Anderson was sent to kill McMurren by 31-year-old Samuel P. Riley Jr., McMurren's younger half-brother, according to MLive. Security camera footage reportedly showed McMurren and Riley entering the Bond Street house together at 3:20 p.m. that day, hours before the fatal encounter. The outlet reports that McMurren later kicked Riley off the property, and the two fought in the front yard before Riley left.
Assistant Prosecutor Melissa J. Hoover told the court the state's case rests on motive, access, and opportunity, per the same outlet's account of the preliminary hearing. Investigators say Anderson called Riley for four minutes shortly before the shooting, and that Anderson's phone had also called McMurren's phone using *67 to conceal the number. Security footage reportedly captured a hooded man pacing outside McMurren's house beginning at 10:22 p.m., nearly half an hour before the masked gunman entered.
What Happened Inside the House
According to testimony described in the report, McMurren's father, Torrance McMurren Sr., said a masked man entered through the unlocked front door and opened fire on his son. McMurren reportedly shouted, “Don't you ever come in my house and disrespect me” before he was shot. His father's girlfriend called 911, and McMurren was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Saginaw Police officers and Michigan State Police Major Case Unit detectives responded to the 2400 block of North Bond Street at approximately 10:50 p.m. that night, according Breaking News 989, which described finding McMurren suffering from chest wounds before he was pronounced dead. The 1,316-square-foot home, built in 1938, sits in Saginaw's Union Park neighborhood on a residential block on the city's west side, per Realtor.com property records.
Firearms Seized From North Michigan Avenue House
Police searched a house on North Michigan Avenue on May 21, where Riley reportedly lived intermittently at the home of Quintavius D. Cole. Investigators found a tan Springfield Armory 10mm handgun with two magazines, a second handgun, two rifles, and a shotgun, the MLive report states. Cole claimed ownership of all five guns but told investigators Riley had no permission to use them, and said Riley was angry and wanted to fight McMurren.
The Michigan State Police crime lab determined that the bullet recovered from McMurren's body and casings found at the scene were fired from the seized 10mm handgun, according to the outlet's reporting. McMurren was shot with 10mm rounds, and security footage reportedly showed a masked gunman entering his home and fleeing after multiple gunshots. Cole told investigators Riley did not have a vehicle and returned to his house at about 8 p.m. on April 26.
Charges and Court Proceedings
Anderson and Riley appeared before Saginaw County District Judge Elian E.H. Fichtner, who bound both cases over to Circuit Court for further proceedings. Fichtner was appointed to the county's 70th District Court by then-Governor Rick Snyder in April 2018 and was named presiding judge in 2021, according to the State Bar of Michigan. Under Saginaw County guidelines, felony cases must undergo a preliminary examination within 21 days of arraignment, where prosecutors demonstrate probable cause before a case can proceed to trial, per the Saginaw County victims' guide.
Both men were charged with open murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree premeditated murder, and 13 firearm-related counts, MLive reported, citing ABC12's earlier coverage that prosecutors allege McMurren was shot in front of his father. A first-degree murder conviction mandates life in prison without the possibility of parole, and under Michigan law, conspiracy to commit first-degree premeditated murder carries the identical mandatory penalty, according to Justia Law. Any felony firearm convictions would add a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence that must be served before the underlying felony term, per Eaton County's legal definitions.
Defense Attorneys Push Back
Defense attorney Alan A. Crawford, representing Riley, said there were no text messages, money exchanges, or DNA evidence linking his client to McMurren's killing. James F. Gust, representing Anderson, argued there was no evidence showing Anderson entered the house with a gun and shot anyone. The dossier notes prosecutors are instead relying on circumstantial cell phone data, the *67 call records, ballistics matches to the seized 10mm handgun, and video evidence to build their case.
Both defendants have prior records. Anderson served two prison stints for armed robbery, home invasion, and illegal firearm possession before the Michigan Department of Corrections discharged him in April 2024. Riley was sentenced to two to 20 years in prison in 2017 for second-degree home invasion and larceny in a building, and was discharged by the department in May 2025.
A Rising Homicide Count in Saginaw
McMurren's death marked Saginaw's sixth homicide of 2026 and the city's third homicide that April, according to MLive's tally. As of August 10, the city had recorded nine homicides for the year, including eight caused by gunfire, with eight male victims and one female victim ranging in age from 17 to 49. That follows 15 homicides in 2025, 12 of them caused by gunfire.
The Saginaw Police Department reported 143 homicides to the FBI's crime reporting system over the ten-year period from 2014 through 2023 in a city of roughly 43,000 residents, according to a report cited on WCMU Public Media's Facebook page. Regional crime tracking separately showed homicides across Saginaw, Bay, and Midland counties dropped 38% in 2025 compared with the prior year, per a report shared by the Bay City Times on Facebook. Even against that broader decline, McMurren's funeral arrangements were entrusted to Evans & Browne's Funeral Home in Saginaw, where he was remembered by loved ones as “Bear.”
