Judge Refuses to Dismiss Murder Charge
A murder charge has been upheld by a Muskegon County Judge in a case where the jury was able to convict on one charge, but was hung on the other. This is a little bit complicated. But if you can hang in while we explain it, it’s actually quite groundbreaking, as a decision was made by a Judge in this case that will likely set the legal precedent for future cases of this type.
Going back to the beginning…19-year-old Maurtice Poole-Knight was accused of being involved in the fatal drive-by gang shooting of DaQuaries Love in August 2014. He was identified by an eye witness as being the shooter, who fired at Love from a vehicle driven by someone else. As a result, he was charged with open murder and gang-related felony.
However, at trial in the Muskegon County Circuit Court, the jury struggled to come to an agreement about the two counts. After discussing the issue at length, the jury asked Judge Timothy G. Hicks if they could convict the defendant on the gang-related felony but not on murder. After consulting with both attorneys and researching case history, which revealed nothing at all, Judge Hicks said yes.
In the end, they found Poole-Knight guilty of the gang-related charge, which is a 20 year felony under state law. But with regard to the open murder charge, the jury was completely deadlocked. Judge Hicks declared a mistrial on the open murder charge, but scheduled a sentencing hearing for the gang-related felony conviction.
At the time, Poole-Knight’s defense attorney moved to have the murder charge dismissed. The defense attorney argued that a second trial would be double jeopardy, as the jury had already convicted her client of the gang-related felony. But the Judge disagreed, and the Muskegon County Prosecutor’s Office has already said that they intend to pursue a new trial for the murder charge.
The reason why this is actually quite exciting, is because Judge Hicks did something that many Judges never get the opportunity to do – he set the precedent. “Gang-related felony” has only been on the books in Michigan for about six years, and so there isn’t much case history to support decisions made surrounding this issue.
A gang-related felony is a 20 year felony, and what it means is that the prosecution must prove that gang membership provided the motive, means or opportunity for an individual to commit a felony. Simply being in a gang is not a crime and cannot be prosecuted. By allowing the gang-related felony conviction to stand, without a conviction on the felony that this charge supported is unprecedented in Michigan case history.
Hicks has scheduled the sentencing on the gang count for January 25, 2016. However, no information is available about when the second murder trial will take place. As of now, Poole-Knight has been denied bail and is in custody in the Muskegon County Jail, where he has been for 15 months already.