Violent Crime

October 1, 2020

Woman Faces Felony Charges for Allegedly Shooting at DoorDash Delivery Driver

Original Case Details

Michelle York, a 33-year-old woman from Wyandotte was arrested and charged after allegedly pulling a gun on a DoorDash delivery driver and firing at him during a dispute. The driver spoke with police and stated that York became angry regarding her order from McDonalds and allegedly pulled a gun and fired shots at him. The gun allegedly misfired on the first shot, and York then attempted to fire at the driver two more times and missed both times. Police responded to the scene, and after a short standoff, the woman was taken into custody. She was charged and arraigned on seven felony charges related to the incident. York’s bond was set at $100,000/10% which was later posted, and York was released from custody. As a condition of her bond, she is required to be monitored through an electronic GPS tether. She continues to be out of custody and monitored by a tether as of this writing.

What are the Woman’s Criminal Charges for Allegedly Shooting at Driver?

September 4, 2020

Man Serving 60 Years for Marijuana Conviction Gets Meeting with Parole Board

by Grabel & Associates

Original Case Details

In a previous blog, we detailed the case of Michael Thompson of Flint. Thompson was sentenced to a maximum of 60 years in state prison for his convictions of delivery of marijuana, felony firearm, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, with a minimum sentence of 42 years before he is eligible for parole. He has since served nearly 25 years of that sentence and will not be eligible for parole until he is 87 years old if his current sentence stands. Thompson is currently 69 years old. Briefly, Thompson was arrested in 1994 for selling three pounds of marijuana to a confidential informant. He was charged with the additional gun charges when police searched his home and found various firearms, mostly antiques. Due to the habitual offender law at the time, it allowed the judge to sentence Thompson to any term of years up to life in prison. This 42-60-year sentence isn’t even possible in today’s time for Thompson’s crimes. This issue has resulted in strong support for Thompson from various people, including the Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Support from Attorney General

May 27, 2020

Wayne County Prosecutor To Testify Over Former Senator Virgil Smith Case

by Grabel & Associates

Original Case Details

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy is set to testify over her handling of Former state senator Virgil Smith’s criminal case. Smith was sentenced to ten months in the Wayne County Jail back in 2016 for a felony charge of malicious destruction of property along with admitting that he brandished a gun and fired shots at his ex-wife’s car. An initial plea deal with negotiated where the Wayne County Prosecutors Office agreed to drop three charges if Smith agreed to resign from the Senate along with agreeing to not hold elected office during his probation period, which would have been set for five years. When the negotiated plea deal went in front of Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Talon, the judge removed both requirements relating Smith’s ability to hold elected office from the deal, stating that the terms were unconstitutional. Prosecutors didn’t agree with a deal that did not include resignation and no elected office so they attempted to withdraw the deal, but Judge Talon would not allow the withdrawal. Prosecutors appealed the Judge’s decision and won at the Michigan Supreme Court in 2018, where the ruling said that the judge should have allowed prosecutors to withdraw from the deal since key parts of it were removed by the judge. After the deal was successfully withdrawn, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy then offered Smith a new deal if he pled to two felonies, which included the previous malicious destruction of property charge in addition to felonious assault. Seeing as Smith had already served his jail time in 2016, and had no new charges or violations, he found this to be vindictive on Worthy’s part since Smith had a deal that included only one felony conviction previously. Smith had also unsuccessfully attempted a run for a seat on Detroit City Council after serving his jail time.

What Is The Current Situation?

May 7, 2020

Man Convicted Of Assault In First Michigan Trial Streamed Live To Public

by Grabel & Associates

Original Case Details

A man from Marquette County in the Upper Peninsula was recently tried in a bench trial that was streamed live online. He was charged with one count of assault with intent to commit great bodily harm less than murder, and one count of a third offense of domestic violence. During the trial, the alleged victim testified that the Marquette man seriously injured her, breaking bones in both her left and right feet. 25th Circuit Court Judge Jennifer A. Mazzuchi presided over the unintentionally historic case and found the man guilty on both charged counts. An assault with intent to commit great bodily harm less than murder carries a maximum punishment of up to ten years in prison, while the third offense domestic violence charge carries a maximum five-year prison sentence. Because the man has at least three prior felony convictions, he is also deemed a habitual offender which multiplies the maximum sentence on his felony charges. In this case, both charges now have life maximums due to the habitual offender status. Prosecutors who have the option to add a habitual offender multiplier typically do and use that in their plea negotiations to try to force a plea out of the defendant in order to dismiss the habitual offender addition. The man will remain in custody until he is sentenced at a later date.

Current Court Order Regarding Operations

February 6, 2020

Michigan Court Of Appeals Judge Tosses 50-Year Sentence In Murder Conviction

by Grabel & Associates

A Grand Blanc, MI man was convicted of second-degree murder for the stabbing death of his wife. He was convicted back in 2017 due to evidence that he knocked her over the head with a flashlight and stabbed her six times with a military style knife. One of the stabs was directly into the victim’s heart. He then took selfie videos after the incident confessing to killing her, but never called 911 or any other help. The judge presiding later sentenced the 46-year old man to a minimum of 50 years in state prison before any eligibility for parole.

In the state of Michigan, a prosecutor can charge what is called “open murder” which gives a jury different options as to which murder charge is most appropriate if any. In the current case, the decision was made by the jury to convict on second-degree murder instead of first-degree murder. The reason this is important in the current case is that when a jury convicts on first-degree murder, the sentence is pretty much set as life or any term of years. If a jury comes back with a verdict finding that the defendant is guilty of second-degree murder, then the judge in the case has wide latitude in determining sentence due to sentencing guidelines. The judge here decided to far exceed the sentencing guidelines as the defendant had a sentencing guideline minimum of 13.5 years. The Michigan court of appeals has now said that the judge went too far in sentencing the defendant to a minimum of 50 years and sent the case back to the trial court for resentencing.

What Are Sentencing Guidelines?

July 29, 2019

Second Degree Murder: One of the Big Three Homicide Charges in Michigan

by Grabel & Associates

In the state of Michigan, three murder charges are the most severe in our state: First Degree Murder, Second Degree Murder, and Felony Murder. Today, we will discuss the crime of Second Degree Murder in the state of Michigan.

When a prosecutor brings a charge of Second Degree Murder, they have the burden of proving the following elements:

1. The victim was killed during the act.

July 25, 2019

Felony Murder: A Charge that is Gaining Traction in Michigan

by Grabel & Associates

In the state of Michigan, there are three main murder charges, and the defense of such is as tricky as any charge could be. The three flavors of murder are First Degree Murder, Second Degree Murder, and Felony Murder. Today, we will discuss the concept of Felony Murder and explain how some counties frequently look to bring this charge.

In Black’s Law Dictionary, we see that this is a charge that is brought when the death of one occurs during the course or the attempted course of a felony offense. To prove their case, the prosecutor must prove the following elements:

A. The Defendant is the proximate cause of death.

July 23, 2019

Castle Doctrine Leads to Not Guilty Verdict of Wayne County Man

by Grabel & Associates

A Wayne County Jury returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty for a Detroit man charged with seven felonies on July 17, 2019. Eric Coleman, 27, of Detroit, Michigan, was charged with the following offenses: Discharge of Firearm in a building Causing Injury, Assault with Intent to do Great Bodily Harm, Felonious Assault, False Report of a Felony and three counts of Felony Firearm.

In a case that had garnered a lot of media attention, the defense team of William Amadeo and Peter Winter utilized Michigan’s Castle Doctrine in their advocacy of Coleman. The successful use of the Castle Doctrine has garnered the attention of gun advocates across the state.

Amadeo, a partner at “McManus and Amadeo” in Ann Arbor, Michigan and a Senior Associate for Grabel and Associates in Lansing, Michigan was lead counsel on the case. When asked about the “Castle Doctrine,” Amadeo stated, “Pete Winter and I worked around the clock on this defense. With Michigan being a “stand your ground” state, we presented a theory that our jury related to. Eric [Coleman] was the actual victim in this case, and, sadly, he had to fight for his freedom the way that he did, but in the end, justice prevailed.”

June 2, 2016

Heroin Addiction & Crime in Michigan

by Scott Grabel

Over the past two or three years heroin has made a strong comeback in West Michigan, resulting in not only countless deaths due to overdose, but a substantial rise in criminal charges. HIDTA, or high intensity drug trafficking areas, include Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Detroit, among others. Not too many years ago, Flint became a city that ranked continuously as one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. for several reasons, one being a sharp increase in heroin use. How does the increase of heroin addiction relate to the increase in crime in the state?

In regions where heroin addiction is high (particularly HIDTA regions), violent and property crimes are quite common. Heroin addicts often know no boundaries when it comes to getting their “fix,” and those who distribute or traffic heroin will go to almost any lengths to protect their distribution operations. Some of the most common criminal offenses committed by addicts who seek the funds to support their addictions include burglary, robbery, retail fraud, and other theft crimes.

April 14, 2016

Juan Enrique Reyes Sentenced to Life in Prison for 2007 Shooting Murder

by Scott Grabel

On Wednesday, April 13, 27-year-old Juan Enrique Reyes was sentenced to life in prison by Judge George Buth for the second-degree murder of Douglas “Ryan” Pollok who was killed in 2007 at a party in Grand Rapids when shots were fired into a crowd of 20 to 30 people.

It took eight years for Reyes to be convicted and sentenced for the murder, as he and his brother, Eric Santiago, fled to Mexico following the shooting. Reyes did not know Pollok, and fired the shots in connection with another feud resulting in Pollok being struck in the chest by a bullet. According to news reports, Reyes and Santiago were featured on “America’s Most Wanted” in 2009 and again in 2012. The two men apparently had a grudge with a neighbor, who they were attempting to shoot at when Pollok was killed. Another man was also injured in the shooting.

In addition to life in prison, Reyes was sentenced to 20 to 50 years for assault with intent to murder and two years for felony firearm.