Demond Nigel Sanders, who drove a gunman to the Aug. 12, 2008, shootout near Warren and Merriman, was convicted Thursday afternoon by Judge Michael Hathaway after he waived his right to a jury trial and decided not to plead guilty, as three other defendants did.Sanders, 29, could face penalties ranging up to life in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 5 by Hathaway for assault with intent to rob while armed, conspiracy to rob while armed and conspiracy to possess more than 1,000 grams of cocaine. Sanders was found not guilty of two other drug charges.Dressed in a suit, he showed no emotion Thursday as Hathaway announced his verdict after a day of testimony in which Sanders took the witness stand and sought to recant an earlier written confession he made to Westland Police Officer Burke Lange."Maybe he can get his grandmother to believe it, but he's not going to get me to believe it," Hathaway said. "That is just preposterous."Sanders' conviction came after earlier guilty pleas by a 50-year-old Garden City man, George Joseph Boldizar, and two 32-year-old Detroit men, Benjamin Bernard Pringle and Roberto Reed. A fifth man, 28-year-old Brian "Cheeseburger" Thomas of Detroit, was shot and killed by police during a shootout outside the now-closed Bob's of Canton-Westland store. Pringle was wounded.
The gunfight erupted on a summer afternoon when gunmen Thomas and Pringle, cocaine-deal conspirator Boldizar and getaway vehicle drivers Sanders and Reed tried to rob a drug informant of three kilos of cocaine rather than pay $60,000. The plot turned violent and bullets rang out when Romulus police emerged from two parked vans and tried to stop the incident.In court Thursday, Officer Lange read aloud a statement in which Sanders admitted driving Boldizar and Thomas to Bob's of Canton-Westland in a 2001 Chevy Lumina, while Reed and Pringle arrived in a black SUV just before the drug informant was confronted as he sat in a silver Mercedes Benz.Sanders told police he was supposed to get $1,000 for driving, but he fled the scene after the shootout erupted and was captured later that evening in Detroit. Sanders confessed in writing that he knew of the cocaine-robbery plot, but he changed his statement Thursday in court.Sanders testified that he didn't know a robbery was planned and that he had merely agreed to give his friend Thomas a ride to Boldizar's house and then to the nearby shopping center. Sanders said he didn't know why the men wanted to go to the shopping center.Under alternate questioning by Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Maria Petito and defense attorney Richard Glanda, Sanders called his earlier written confession a lie and said he gave it because he feared that, if he didn't, he could face a more serious charge of murdering Thomas. He also said he was afraid that police would harass his family and his girlfriend.Petito, accompanied in court by Westland police Sgt. Michael Harhold, reminded Sanders of a text message he received from Thomas on the morning of the would-be robbery, reminding him that "it's on" for the afternoon of Aug. 12.Sanders confessed to police that he drove away from the scene after the shootout erupted, yet he testified Thursday that he dropped Thomas and Boldizar off, then left before the gunfight happened.
When asked by Petito why he didn't contact police after he heard what had happened, he replied, "I was scared. I didn't know what to do."Sanders will be the last defendant to face sentencing Feb. 5.Pringle pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit armed robbery, conspiring to possess cocaine and felony firearms in return for a 15-year sentence formally set for Jan. 29.Boldizar accepted a sentence of 10-15 years in prison for his guilty plea to conspiracy to possess cocaine. His formal sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 28.Reed agreed to a 10-year prison term and pleaded guilty to felony firearms, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and possession of cocaine. His sentencing was scheduled for Friday, the day after Sanders' conviction.
No comments:
Post a Comment