Sentencing Delay For Teen In Woman's Trunk Killing
LANSING (WWJ/AP) - A Lansing area judge on Wednesday delayed the sentencing of a teenager convicted of first-degree murder in the killing of a 19-year-old woman in a car trunk.
Ingham County Judge George Economy said he expected to postpone the sentencing a 15-year-old until next Tuesday. Economy will decide whether to sentence him as a juvenile or adult, the Lansing State Journal reported.
Authorities said the youth was 13 in July 2010 when he, his father and several others entered 19-year-old Shayla Johnson's Lenore Street home to kidnap her. They hoped to gain access to her boyfriend's marijuana plants. Police say Johnson was dragged out of her out of bed and thrown into the trunk of a car, where she was shot multiple times.
Psychologist Leonard Vanderjagt recommended Wednesday that Economy impose a delayed sentence allowing the teen to be held at a youth facility and then review his sentence when he turns 21. Vanderjagt testified that the teen is unlikely to change but nevertheless wouldn't recommend a life sentence.
"I find it premature to close the book on this young person's life," Vanderjagt said, adding that a delayed sentence would provide the opportunity to "prove he can become a nonthreatening member of society."
The teen also was found guilty of home invasion, assault with intent to rob while armed, felony firearm and two conspiracy counts. His 34-year-old father and four other men, ranging in age from 20 to 24, were charged in federal court in connection with the case, and two additional men pleaded guilty in federal court.
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