Ypsilanti man sentenced to 14-20 years for robbery-related shooting
Christopher Tillison
Courtesy of the state of Michigan
A 26-year-old Ypsilanti man will spend up to 20 years in prison for shooting a man in the knee during a robbery.
Christopher Tillison was sentenced Tuesday to 14-20 years in prison by Judge Donald Shelton in the Washtenaw County Trial Court: 12-20 years for two counts of armed robbery and two years for one count of felony firearm.
Tillison pleaded guilty to the three counts July 17. A count of assault with intent to murder, armed robbery, first-degree home invasion and felon in possession of a firearm were dismissed, as was a habitual offender status, in the plea bargain.
Two counts of witness intimidation that were brought in May were dismissed 20 days later, court records indicate.
Tillison was on parole when police said he shot a man in the knee during a robbery on July 10, 2012 in the 300 block of Bedford Drive, a street in the Huron Ridge apartments of Ypsilanti Township.
A second person was said to be involved in the incident, but no one else was ever arrested or charged in the incident.
He has seven previous felony convictions, according to state records. Charges of assaulting, resisting or obstructing a police officer; possession of less than 25 grams of cocaine; receiving and concealing stolen property between $1,000 and $20,000 and two charges of second-degree home invasion stem from a March 19, 2009, incident, records show.
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
rick
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:32 p.m.
Good ..... 14- 20 years as Big Bubbas Boy Toy...... This thug got everything he deserved....These sentencing hearings need to be taped and shown to every High School kid in every High School in America..... Maybe even start in middle school....... Show the kids exactly what happens when you decide the wrong path to stride down...
Solitude
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 8:42 p.m.
Another habitual offender committing another violent crime and getting his habitual offender status waived by Brian Mackie's prosecutors. When will that office be made to answer to the public for this? It's not like this is new for them or anything, but how long is it going to take before they put the people's interests at the front of their priorities?
Tim Hornton
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 5:09 p.m.
Mdoc parole brass believe when a parolee screws up then the PO screws up too. I wonder if the MDOC walked the agent out of their office and suspended them until "further review" like they often do. That Department is the worst! The poor PO's are the departments scapegoats for parole. They are the judges and departments scapegoat for probation. They make imposible conditions often for an addict, street thug or sex offender to follow but when they of course mess up nothing is done until the media catches on the case and then all of a sudden managment actually cares. The CJ system is to harsh on some crimes and Way to soft on violent crime and robbery. This guy getting a min of 14 years is really rare. I've seen guys butcher people, plead to murder 2nd and get out in 15 years.
Ricebrnr
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 4:30 p.m.
"A count of assault with intent to murder, armed robbery, first-degree home invasion and felon in possession of a firearm were dismissed, as was a habitual offender status, in the plea bargain." Glad to see all those laws worked....not
rooster
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 4:05 p.m.
The real question is what to do with this individual? As much as we would all like to see this person turn his life around this is very unlikely. What is much more likely is that after serving his latest sence he will committ an even more violent crime after his release. Sadly, the only option I see is to lock him away for good.
Tru2Blu76
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 2:47 p.m.
14 to 20 years, contingent on what? I favor instituting a Contingent System of Sentencing for such crimes as this. The contingency would give the convicted felon the option of getting the shorter sentence IF the shorter sentence began with an equivalent injury (such as being shot in the knee).
antikvetch
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 1:58 p.m.
I'm sure is family is real proud of him.....
yesisaidit
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 1:45 p.m.
seen this coming years ago
Tim Hornton
Thu, Aug 15, 2013 : 1:49 a.m.
"Mathgeek", more like EnglishGeek, ha ha ha. Ain't that funny!
MathGeek
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 10:50 p.m.
Saw.
Cash
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 1:30 p.m.
Habitual Offender charge should not be dismissed in a plea deal. The record shows that in fact this man is a habitual offender. I would love to hear the explanation of this charge being dropped.... from the prosecutor, in conjunction with his/her explanation of the purpose of this charge. John Counts, could you contact the prosecutor and ask for an explanation?
MathGeek
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 10:53 p.m.
I think that guy that tried to kill his girlfriend by running her over multiple times also had a habitual offender label dropped in a plea bargain. What a bunch of garbage. I don't know what difference it really makes, the guy is clearly never going to be an upstanding citizen, but I also seems illogical.
Solitude
Wed, Aug 14, 2013 : 8:51 p.m.
If the explanation runs true to past non-explanations, it will go something like, "Best interests of the taxpayers...better to get a plea than go to trial...blah blah...budget contraints...blah blah blah..." It's a gigantic load of C R A P. I wish somebody with some real legal chops would run for that job. Washtenaw County prosecutor's ofc is known around the state for its softness and its failure to aggressively prosecute.