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No. 126538
| The People of the State of Michigan, |
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Thomas M. Chambers |
Plaintiff-Appellant, Cross-Appellee, |
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vs (Appeal from Ct of Appeals) |
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(
Wayne - Cox, S.) |
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| Mario Curvan, |
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Marla R. McCowan |
Defendant-Appellee,
Cross-Appellant. |
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Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Plaintiff-Appellant, Cross-Appellee's Brief on Appeal>>
Defendant-Appellee, Cross-Appellant's Brief on Appeal>>
Background
On December 31, 1998, customers discovered the body of Frank Bono inside his laundromat. He had died from blunt force trauma to the head. The murder remained unsolved for over three years. Eventually, a unit organized to reinvestigate old homicide cases received a tip that Mario Curvan might have some information regarding Bono's murder. After being questioned by the police, Curvan admitted that he had accompanied Abdullah Halim to the laundromat with the intent to rob Bono. Halim took Curvan's hammer along with him. After Bono let the two into his establishment, Halim struck Bono's head with the hammer and then stabbed Bono in the neck. Halim took some money and gave Curvan $15 or $20. Curvan was charged with first-degree felony murder, MCL 750.316, and armed robbery, MCL 750.529. On March 19, 2002, after a three-day jury trial, Curvan was found guilty of both charges. He was sentenced on April 11, 2002, to life for the first-degree felony murder conviction and 20 to 40 years in prison for the armed robbery conviction. Curvan appealed, claiming that his sentences for both felony murder and the underlying felony of armed robbery violated his constitutional right to be free from double jeopardy. The Court of Appeals agreed that the dual sentences violated the Double Jeopardy Clauses of the U.S. and Michigan Constitutions. The prosecutor appeals.
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