16-year-old sentenced for robbing and shooting man
A 16-year-old Superior Township boy accused of robbing and then shooting a 39-year-old man was sentenced in the Washtenaw County Trial Court Tuesday.
Bertel Gibbs was convicted as an adult, but sentenced as a juvenile.
Judge Donald Shelton sentenced Gibbs to complete juvenile probation. Violation of this sentence will bring Gibbs back to court to be sentenced as an adult with a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison.
Gibbs will be receiving treatment from Wolverine Human Services. His progress will be reviewed by the Washtenaw County Trial Court on Nov. 19 and he will return before Shelton every six months until his probation is complete.
No further information on his sentencing was given.
Gibbs was charged with six counts; three weapons felony firearm counts, assault with intent to murder, armed robbery, and assault with bodily harm less than murder. On April 22 Gibbbs accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty. All of the counts were dismissed except count five: assault with bodily harm less than murder.
Shelton told Gibbs that being sentenced as a juvenile is a second chance. Gibbs apologized to the victim, the victim’s family, and his own family for what he has put them through.
A news release from the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office said that Gibbs was charged as an adult because of the seriousness of the crimes, AnnArbor.com reported.
The 39-year-old Ypsilanti Township citizen robbed and shot by Gibbs told police that he was at an apartment complex in the 110 block of South Harris Road when the incident took place. The victim told police that Gibbs had a handgun and told him to hand over his money. Gibbs then shot the man in the leg, according to the report.
Chelsea Hoedl is an intern reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at choedl@mlive.com.
Comments
Bruce W
Sat, May 25, 2013 : 2:58 p.m.
A 16 year old can't buy a handgun legally, he went thru no background checks at all, we have laws against this but our judges are not enforcing these laws to protect honest, hardworking, taxpaying citizens! Why are we spending so much time and money trying to pass new gun restrictions when the ones we already have are not being enforced? It would be better if we quit wasting money and used that money to keep criminals locked up longer. I would bet this kid will end up getting another gun illegally and be back in front of another judge that will give him a slap on the wrist again, but not until someone else is robbed, raped, or killed...maybe all three.
Y-TownMom
Sat, May 25, 2013 : 9:06 a.m.
Will he be attending public school in the fall?
Tru2Blu76
Fri, May 24, 2013 : 2:58 a.m.
This kid didn't invent armed robbery. This kid didn't invent shooting someone for no reason. This kid got his ideas from someone else - who was it? As a rule, 16 year-old boys get their ideas about who they are and what they should be doing from parents, adult family members and older siblings. If I were that judge, I'd be very interested in learning where this kid got the idea he could rob and shoot an adult. Few of us worry because few of us ever have the experience of being under the command of a teenager. The chance is slim but finite. But chance favors the prepared mind.
Susan Ursus
Fri, May 24, 2013 : 1:23 a.m.
Robbed a guy at GUNPOINT, then SHOT him. I don't want this thug to have a "second chance" to kill!
greg s
Thu, May 23, 2013 : 9:09 p.m.
should be in adult prison, doing adult time. That is what his actions demand.
Jan Titi
Thu, May 23, 2013 : 8:55 p.m.
If you do the crime do the time no matter what your age is!
Patrick Maurer
Thu, May 23, 2013 : 2:58 p.m.
I agree. It is time to hold judges and magistrates accountable. This county is starting to resemble the Wild West, where every day there are reports of home invasions, assaults, rapes, and killings and we see the revolving door judges and magistrates doing business as usual. Time to call a halt to lax bail amounts and wrist slap sentencing.
Huron74
Thu, May 23, 2013 : 1:59 p.m.
Simply astonishing.
EyeHeartA2
Thu, May 23, 2013 : 1:54 p.m.
Kudos for publishing the name. I guess time will tell if we read it again. Anybody taking bets?
Nicholas Urfe
Thu, May 23, 2013 : 12:23 p.m.
That is an outrageous sentence for a 16 year old who surely knew exactly what he was doing. This is no justice for the man who was shot.
Ben Petiprin
Thu, May 23, 2013 : 12:15 p.m.
If his intent was to murder he wouldn't have shot the guy in the leg.
tdw
Thu, May 23, 2013 : 12:32 p.m.
Maybe he is a bad shot
Nicholas Urfe
Thu, May 23, 2013 : 12:23 p.m.
It is very easy for a leg shot to be fatal. They are called arteries and veins.
Billy
Thu, May 23, 2013 : 12:05 p.m.
"Gibbs was charged with six counts; three weapons felony firearm counts, assault with intent to murder, armed robbery, and assault with bodily harm less than murder." Those do not warrant a "second chance." ASSAULT WITH INTENT TO MURDER....do you NOT understand what those words mean "judge?" You gave this VIOLENT CONVICTED FELON......probation...no jail time...just probation..... What do we have to do to get an investigation done on this "judge?"
jklep12
Thu, May 23, 2013 : 12:27 p.m.
I had Judge Shelton as an instructor at Eastern, and he always aknowledged that sentencing was the toughest part of his job. We sat in on an afternoon docket and afterward he invited us to question his sentencing decisions. Maybe you could contact him and get answers for yourself.
Billy
Thu, May 23, 2013 : 12:01 p.m.
"Bertel Gibbs was convicted as an adult, but sentenced as a juvenile." Time to remove this "Judge" from the bench.....
Billy
Thu, May 23, 2013 : 12:06 p.m.
I apologize for making a mistake and capitalizing the word judge in this previous post. Some judges deserve that kind of respect...this one does not.