Ann Arbor armed robbery suspects face preliminary hearings
Two men accused of robbing two teenagers at gunpoint in downtown Ann Arbor a week ago are scheduled to appear in court for preliminary hearings this week.
Robert King, 19, was arraigned on two counts of armed robbery, felony use of a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon at the Washtenaw County Jail, Ann Arbor police Det. Bill Stanford said. King remains at the Washtenaw County Jail on $300,000 bond.
Daniel James Pitchford, also 19, faces identical counts of armed robbery and weapons violations and received a $200,000 bond.Â
Stanford said King pulled a shotgun and placed it to the head of a 17-year-old boy sitting in a parked car in the 400 block of South First Street at about 7 p.m. last Sunday. A 15-year-old boy is also a victim, Stanford said.Â
Both were robbed of an undisclosed amount of cash, but neither was injured.
Officers followed footprints in the fresh snow from the crime scene to a nearby residence where they arrested Pitchford and King.
King was sentenced to probation in November after being convicted of conspiracy to commit armed robbery in Genesee County, prison records show. He violated probation in just one month and was wanted at the time of his arrest, records show.
Police said the teenagers planned to meet the men that evening, but they would not provide further details.
Comments
tdw
Mon, Jan 4, 2010 : 8:19 p.m.
so by your same logic if a gun missfires then that should be less of a charge because of faulty ammo? because " there was no way possible they could shoot the person"
Lokalisierung
Mon, Jan 4, 2010 : 6:47 p.m.
THANKS tdw, I mean that didn't add ANYTHING to the conversation in anyway but I guess it was a good one.
tdw
Mon, Jan 4, 2010 : 6:43 p.m.
oh BTW a LARGE percentiage (if not most) of accidential shootings occur when the gun is "unloaded"
Lokalisierung
Mon, Jan 4, 2010 : 6:06 p.m.
I let the jury decide. Who might take his possible retardation into account.
tdw
Mon, Jan 4, 2010 : 5:49 p.m.
what if the criminal is just too stupid to know if the gun is loaded or unloaded (like someone who leaves tracks in the snow leading directly to them)
Lokalisierung
Mon, Jan 4, 2010 : 5:34 p.m.
Yes MikeyP I understand the law regarding that, but it factors on a lot actually. They say it's the same offense, but obviousdly when it comes to prison time, jury feeling, and then parole etc it pops up. I of course agree that makes no difference to the victim, but the thoughts of the victim are clearly not the sole concern of the criminality.
MikeyP
Mon, Jan 4, 2010 : 5:22 p.m.
If you use a gun in the commission of a crime the penalty is the same whether it is loaded or not (or even if it is a fake or real gun) for a good reason: how is the victim supposed to know the gun isn't loaded (or isn't real if it's a realistic looking fake?) The fear the victims feel is the same regardless of whether the gun is loaded or not, and criminals are counting on that. Besides, they could ALWAYS claim the gun wasn't loaded after the fact and get a lighter sentence if that were to be permitted!
Lokalisierung
Mon, Jan 4, 2010 : 4:23 p.m.
I think most of the light sentences involving children really has to do with having no place for them. Put all the parents in jail and then what? Where do the kids go?
Lokalisierung
Mon, Jan 4, 2010 : 4:15 p.m.
Well the problem with automatic sentencing is related to your last point. What if the gun was not loaded? Sure they get an automatic gun charge becasue they are using a gun there, i got no problem with that. but how harsh can you charge them if there was no possible way they could shoot the person? i mean it has to be different than if they could. Way too many factors to just blanket laws on everything.
annarbor28
Mon, Jan 4, 2010 : 4:09 p.m.
I really hope so. There are too many criminals getting out of prisons and jails due to budget cuts. The recidivism rate is horrendous. In particular, rape, especially child abuse and child sexual abuse are treated way too lightly. I saw recently that a man and woman whose 4 month old was found with 20 broken bones and a cracked skull were charged with lesser crimes relating to child abuse, not murder or assault, because somehow children are considered less important than adults, if one abuses one's own children. It's treated more like a mental illness or under parental rights than as a major crime that should carry life imprisonment or the death penalty. Ditto with sex offenders. If they smile real nice at their hearings and carry a bible, they get out quickly and commit more of the same. There should be more crimes that carry automatic life sentences or the death penalty, which basically relate to destroying children's lives. These were teens that were held up at gunpoint, so put this in that category.
Lokalisierung
Mon, Jan 4, 2010 : 12:28 p.m.
Oh I'm sorry they are already felons? Add 10 years on my guess.
Lokalisierung
Mon, Jan 4, 2010 : 12:25 p.m.
"They will probably get light sentences, and pleas,..." First of all everyone pleas...that's the way the system works now and there isn't much way around it. As for the sentence, it depends what you think of as "light." I had a few guys pull a gun on me (unloaded) and rob me and they got 2-15 years...they did a solid 6 (well the one I kept track of). They'll get 2 year for the weapon being involved right away...can't get out of that.
Ricebrnr
Mon, Jan 4, 2010 : 12:17 p.m.
Actually I made no comments regarding how the situation could've been better or worse. Since the victims were teens, there was no way for them to be legally armed, I thought that was obvious. My point was to show how 2 underaged felons, already on probation, with warrants, disregarded several more laws in this act. This story was illustrative of how "criminals do not fear laws or law enforcers".
Jake C
Mon, Jan 4, 2010 : 11:27 a.m.
@Ricebrnr: I'm sure this situation would have ended *much* better if the teenagers had pulled out their own guns in response to having a shotgun pointed at their heads (*sarcasm*). In this case, both the victims escaped with their lives, and the criminals were caught by the police. Guns owned by lawful citizens have their place in this country, but this was not an appropriate situation for an escalation of force that easily could have resulted in the victims being hurt or killed.
annarbor28
Mon, Jan 4, 2010 : 9:11 a.m.
They will probably get light sentences, and pleas, as Gov Granholm wants to keep felons out of prison to save money for other projects.
annarbor28
Mon, Jan 4, 2010 : 12:20 a.m.
Likely they'll be out soon with a plea or a light sentence. Granholm wants early release of prisoners to save money.
abu hamane
Sun, Jan 3, 2010 : 11:26 p.m.
Find them, convict them, sentence them, and then dispose of them. Most civilized cultures still carry the death penalty for the safety of their citizens.
voiceofreason
Sun, Jan 3, 2010 : 10:47 p.m.
This sounds to me like a planned purchase of "illicit substances" where the where the older "gents" decided to take advantage of the situation. Hopefully the teens are "scared straight" after this encounter, and I hope the "gents" can be placed into some type of work camp.
annarbor28
Sun, Jan 3, 2010 : 9:06 p.m.
Last week the story quoted below from the annarbor.com stated that the armed robbery occurred on South Forest, NOT South First, unless 2 very similar incidents happened the same time. Which address is it, annarbor,com? It actually makes a difference to some of us: "Ann Arbor police arrest two suspects following armed robbery Posted: 3:46 p.m. December 28, 2009 14 Comments. Comment Now Ann Arbor police arrested two suspects Sunday night following an armed robbery that involved a shotgun and a pistol. According to the police, the two victims were sitting in a car in the 400 block of South Forest Avenue, near the University of Michigan Central Campus, when the two suspects robbed them of an undisclosed amount of cash around 6 p.m. Sunday. Officers were able to follow footprints in the snow to a residence, where the two suspects were arrested. They are charged with armed robbery and various firearms offenses. Both suspects have prior felonies, police said. Additional details on the suspects were not available this afternoon."
Ricebrnr
Sun, Jan 3, 2010 : 8:44 p.m.
Yet more known criminals ALLOWED to roam our streets and prey on the law abiding. Criminals do not fear laws or law enforcers, they fear armed citizens! http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/08357
kittybkahn
Sun, Jan 3, 2010 : 7:52 p.m.
It sounds like this happened on S. First Street,just a block down from the Blind Pig. Disturbing.
ronn oneal
Sun, Jan 3, 2010 : 7:30 p.m.
now south side is like a low budget free for all!!!!!! First ave? come on, no place to be unless you know someone, cause if they dont know you, your Fair game.........