Flat Rock Man Gets 55 years in prison
Richard Thompson, a 19-year-old from Flat Rock, MI, pled guilty to multiple felonies in court last month, and was sentenced to 55 years in prison by Judge Darlene O’Brien in the Washtenaw County Trial Court on Thursday, June 19th.
In addition to a 32-55 year charge of second degree murder, Thompson was sentenced to two counts of unarmed robbery, larceny in a building, and larceny of a firearm. He will be serving concurrent sentences of 10 to 15 years for the two counts of unarmed robbery, 1 to 4 years for the charge of larceny in a building, and 1 – 5 years for the larceny of a firearm charge.
Thompson was originally charged with felony murder, but the prosecution was willing to dismiss the charge in exchange for his plea.
The charges all stem from the events on the night of November 23rd, 2013. Thompson and two of his friends, Mark Paling, 19, and Rikky Ranger, 20, robbed and killed a 71-year-old Ann Arbor man, David Maurer, in his apartment.
According to police, Thompson, Paling and Ranger met Maurer on ‘Grindr’, an iphone dating app that caters to gay men. Apparently they met up with Maurer in Melvindale and went with him to his apartment in Ann Arbor. There they smoked marijuana, drank alcohol and engaged in sexual activity. Police say that the trio had fully intended to rob Maurer after meeting up with him.
According to testimony provided by Paling when he pled guilty to second degree murder last month, he gave a pre-agreed upon signal when he intended to start the robbery. Thompson grabbed Maurer and held him in a chokehold while the other two rifled the apartment, looking for items to steal.
When the Washtenaw robbery was complete, Thompson released Maurer. When he collapsed to the ground and didn’t move, Thompson kicked him. They left Maurer on a couch in his apartment, taking electronics, cash and a handgun.
It was more than a week before Maurer’s body was found, but the criminal investigation didn’t truly begin until footage from a security camera showed Maurer entering his apartment with three unknown young men, who later left without him.
Thompson, Paling and Ranger were later identified when they made purchases with Maurer’s stolen credit cards. They were arrested shortly thereafter.
Paling was sentenced on June 26th to imprisonment for 22 ½ to 40 years in prison. Ranger is still being evaluated for mental competency to determine if he can stand trial.