Charge dismissed against man accused in bank robbery
![Andre_Wallace.jpg](http://www.annarbor.com/assets_c/2012/08/Andre_Wallace-thumb-150x196-118689.jpg)
Andre Wallace
Courtesy of the Michigan Department of Corrections
The courtroom erupted in applause when Judge Melinda Morris announced her decision that essentially dismissed a charge of conspiracy to commit armed robbery filed against Andre Lafayette Wallace.
Wallace, who appeared in the Washtenaw County Trial Court Monday in state prison clothing and escorted by guards, was visibly pleased. According to Michigan’s Offender Tracking Information System website, Wallace,24, is currently serving between a 1.5 to 15 years in prison for two counts of second-degree home invasion that occurred in Pittsfield Township.
There won’t be any more time added for the count of conspiracy to commit a bank robbery due to the judge’s ruling.
The robbery in question occurred at the Citizens Bank on Washtenaw Avenue the morning of March 22, 2011. At the preliminary examination, a teller testified that a man came into the bank at 10:20 a.m. with his face covered by a dark bandana and screamed, “Don’t move!” according to court records.
The teller said the man had a paper bag on his hand and pointed it like he had a gun. The man hopped over the counter and took money from the tellers’ drawers, then jumped back over the counter and went out the door. The teller saw the man ride away on a bicycle.
Whether or not Wallace had been part of the robbery plot was at the heart of Monday’s debate. The prosecution alleged he was supposed to serve as a lookout for the robbery.
“(Wallace) said it was his expectation that he would get money for being the lookout,” Det. Craig Raisanen of the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office testified at the preliminary examination on May 29, 2012.
Wallace, who lived near the bank, was found near the scene soon after the robbery and arrested on an unrelated warrant. Wallace requested to talk to police about the bank robbery while being held in jail, according to court records.
Wallace told detectives he had given bank robbery advice to a 21-year-old Ypsilanti man — the main suspect at the time, according to Raisanen’s testimony.
Assistant Washtenaw County Prosecutor Paul Barnett argued that there was an agreement to commit an act, even if “there may not have been a specific plan.”
“He was planning on telling the perpetrator he was going to be the lookout,” Barnett said.
Wallace’s court-appointed attorney, Erane Washington, said her client had spoken about how to rob banks with the suspect in the incident, but they didn’t have anything set in stone.
“I wholeheartedly disagree that there was a plan,” she said. “There’s absolutely no meeting of the minds here. There was no action taken by my client.”
In July, Washington filed a motion to quash, which legally enables the defense to suppress evidence. Morris granted the motion, thus dismissing the case.
“There’s nothing in this evidence that shows there was an agreement,” Morris said.
The 21-year-old has not been charged and is no longer a suspect, according to Sgt. Geoff Fox of the sheriff’s office. Since the case is still under investigation, police can’t release any other details about it, Fox said.
The same bank was robbed again a month later on April 26, 2011.
Wallace is considered a habitual offender. In addition to his 2011 conviction, he was convicted on four counts of second-degree home invasion, two counts of uttering and publishing and forgery in 2003. In 2007, Wallace was convicted of larceny in a building.
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Sue
Tue, Aug 7, 2012 : 3:56 a.m.
Our streets and cities will never be safe as long as we have judges who don't want to punish criminals. With all the felonies Wallace has committed over the years, society would be better off with him behind bars. Hopefully he has to serve the full 15 years of his current sentence, but if Morris or Washington have anything to say about it, he'll probably get out sooner.
Jimmy McNulty
Sat, Aug 4, 2012 : 11:54 a.m.
"Wallace's court-appointed attorney, Erane Washington......" Isn't this the same person running for Morris's judge seat? I hope voters do NOT vote for Washington. If elected, Washington sounds like she will be Melinda Morris Part II.
DissidentIntellectual
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 9:36 p.m.
Isn't odd how the public wants to have attorney's actually do their jobs and protect the rights of those wrongfully accused, but if they do that somehow they are dubbed as for criminals. If the person had paid for this type of defense, the attorney would be called good attorney. But a court-appointed attorney who does their job is called lenient on crime.
observer
Sat, Aug 4, 2012 : 3:30 p.m.
she would be.....but she will say anything to get elected or show how liberal she.....
EyeHeartA2
Sat, Aug 4, 2012 : 5:13 a.m.
Wait. I thought Melinda was a Republican. I'm shocked to read this is not the case.
Jack Campbell
Sat, Aug 4, 2012 : 3:01 a.m.
Judge Melinda Morris, thank you once again for insuring that our streets are filled with violent habitual offenders.
Michigan Reader
Sat, Aug 4, 2012 : 12:50 a.m.
It's strange there's no aiding and abetting statute on the books for bank robbery, it would fit well in this case.
Michigan Reader
Sun, Aug 5, 2012 : 1:37 a.m.
The 21 year old hasn't been charged and is no longer a suspect. There IS an aiding and abetting statute, MCL 767.39. But that's moot anyway, because the 21 year old isn't suspected of doing the robbery. How could Wallace have been a co-conspirator with the suspect at the time, the 21 year old? It reads like a mixed up set of facts.
lynel
Fri, Aug 3, 2012 : 10:33 p.m.
Is this the same Erane Washington, running few Circuit Court Judge?
hadit
Mon, Aug 6, 2012 : 11:55 a.m.
yes
ordmad
Sat, Aug 4, 2012 : 4:47 a.m.
Yes
Macabre Sunset
Fri, Aug 3, 2012 : 8:31 p.m.
This is what happens if you have a one-party system of government. You get a renegade who is out of control. That's Melinda Morris. We can definitely see felons released early or winning cases like these. But what we don't see is all the cases withdrawn or plead down to nothing when Morris was assigned.
justcurious
Fri, Aug 3, 2012 : 7:09 p.m.
Someone could write a book on her decisions. How long can we just accept this?
Jay Thomas
Fri, Aug 3, 2012 : 6:28 p.m.
We are really supposed to believe they got the wrong guy?
Ron Granger
Fri, Aug 3, 2012 : 6:15 p.m.
"In July, Washington filed a motion to quash, which legally enables the defense to suppress evidence. Morris granted the motion, thus dismissing the case." This case seems like a very fine line between planning a bank robbery vs. just talking about it. I have been shocked at previous rulings by Morris that have allowed convicted extremely violent criminals back on the street while awaiting sentencing. This ruling, while different, is also shocking. At this point, for me, she has lost all credibility as a judge and I eagerly await her retirement.
snapshot
Mon, Aug 6, 2012 : 3:26 a.m.
Knowing the law helps for you legald eagles. When they can arrest and convict you for just "thinking or discussing" an act without committing it then we're all in trouble.
observer
Sat, Aug 4, 2012 : 3:28 p.m.
I really believe her interest in being a judge ended years ago......just clear the docket......