GUILTY MI - Dennis Rodeman, 35, firefighter, killed in hit & run, Lansing, 9 Sept 2015

Lansing firefighter Bruce Wheeler jumped out of the way of a speeding pickup truck, looking into the eyes of the driver, just before it struck and killed his friend and fellow firefighter Dennis Rodeman.

It was that close encounter, which Wheeler described in testimony Thursday, that led prosecutors to add another charge against 23-year-old Grant Taylor — assault with intent to murder.

Wheeler was one of four witnesses who testified Thursday during a preliminary hearing in 54A District Court. The hearing ended with Judge Hugh Clarke Jr. ruling there was enough evidence for Taylor to stand trial.

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The forensic examiner who evaluated the Lansing man charged with murder in the death of a Lansing firefighter found that he was mentally ill, but could conform his behavior to meet the requirements of the law at the time of the crash, according to a motion filed last week.

In the motion, 23-year-old Grant Taylor's court-appointed attorney, Stacia Buchanan, asked the court to approve funds for an independent psychiatric evaluation, which could cost $2,000. Buchanan also filed a motion notifying prosecutors of her intent to use the insanity defense at a trial.

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The trial of a Lansing man accused of striking and killing a firefighter last year is delayed indefinitely, after a judge ruled Wednesday that he is incompetent to stand trial.

Grant Taylor, 23, is facing murder and other charges in the death of 35-year-old Dennis Rodeman, who was killed in September while he and other firefighters were collecting donations for charity near the intersection of Cedar Street and Jolly Road.

Police later said Taylor became angered at the traffic backup from the fundraiser and intentionally struck Rodeman before fleeing the scene in his truck, according to court records. He was arrested a short time later near his home after a pursuit with police.

The state has 15 months to bring Taylor back to competency for trial, Dewane said, before it would have to dismiss the charges. If that happens, Dewane said prosecutors could then petition to have Taylor involuntarily admitted to a state psychiatric hospital.

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A Lansing man charged with fatally striking firefighter Dennis Rodeman with his vehicle in 2015 is now competent to stand trial, a judge ruled Thursday.

Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Clinton Canady III set a Sept. 5 trial date for Grant Taylor, 24, who faces murder and other charges in Rodeman's death.

Taylor is accused of deliberately hitting Rodeman with a car while he and other firefighters were collecting donations for charity on South Cedar Street, near Jolly Road.

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The new report from the forensic center says Taylor's competency has been restored.

On Thursday, Assistant Ingham County Prosecutor John Dewane and Taylor's attorney, Stacia Buchanan, agreed to those findings and asked that Taylor be returned to the forensic center to await trial to ensure that he remains on his medications.

Taylor has missed doses of his medication since being brought back to the Inhgam County Jail for Thursday's court hearing, attorneys told Canady.

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Grant Taylor, 24, of Lansing, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to second-degree murder and other charges in a plea deal in the death of firefighter Dennis Rodeman.

The deal sets his minimum sentence at 30 years in prison. There is no maximum.

After the plea hearing, Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor John Dewane said that on Aug. 16 he and Prosecuting Attorney Carol Siemon met with the Rodeman family about the potential plea agreement. Dewane added that after that meeting prosecutors offered the agreement to Taylor's attorney, Stacia Buchanan, and it was accepted on Monday.

Taylor or prosecutors can withdraw from the plea agreement if Canady sets the minimum sentence higher or lower than 30 years in prison. Taylor will be sentenced at 11 a.m. Sept. 7.

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A mentally ill man who struck and killed a firefighter with his pickup truck during a charity collection was sentenced Thursday to at least 30 years in prison for second-degree murder.

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Kate Rodeman sat among friends and family as the letter she wrote to the man who killed her husband was read to a courtroom full of people.

"When you killed my husband, you turned my life into pure chaos," said Justin Conklin, the Lansing firefighter who read the letter on her behalf. "His death did not only break my heart, it broke all of me and more. You stole our future, the life we could have had."

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It's a sentence Rodeman's father, Max, thought was too lenient, according a letter Kelly Flory, Dennis Rodeman's sister, read on his behalf.

"In my opinion you should have to sit in a cell the size of a coffin and think about your life, where my son is for eternity, never to play with his son," Flory read. "I will never think 30 years is enough for what you have done to my grandson’s family and mom."

Then, Flory addressed Taylor herself, often looking at him.

"Coward," she said. "That is how I refer to you. I can’t bring myself to call you by your name. ... So as you sit in your cell every day for at least the next 30 years, which I don't feel is long enough, and you see your family on regular visits, just remember, we can't see my brother.

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