Decatur man sentenced to 14 years for deadly 2020 shooting

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — A Decatur man has been sentenced to 14 years for the death of Devin Slater in 2020.

Bryant K. Bunch, 47, pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with a firearm, a class X felony, on Wednesday. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison at 85% with a three year mandatory supervised release. He will be given credit for time served from Sept. 25, 2020 through Dec. 19, 2023.

Bunch was charged in the shooting of 36-year-old Devin Slater.

According to police, Slater was shot in the area of Dennis and Wood on April 5, 2020. Neighbors said they heard six to ten shots being fired.

Friends described Slater as the life of the party and "a motivator of everybody.”

Bryant K. Bunch in court on Dec. 20, 2023 with his attorney Gal Pissetzky.

Bunch turned himself in on April 6, 2020 but was able to post 10% of his $1 million bond just days later.

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In court on Wednesday, Bunch asked the judge if he could turn himself in on the new year. The judge denied the request.

During sentencing, Slater's two daughters took the stand for victim impact statements.

"This coward, Bryant Bunch took my father away from me, my sister and my brothers. I don't understand how a man could do the most cowardly thing to someone who was no threat to him," said one daughter.

"Losing my father was something I least expected to happen to me," said Slater's other daughter. "I will never take life for granted and will always remember the things he taught me and my siblings."