Man gets prison in Campus Habitat case
Second of five defendants in 2020 robberyturned-murder sentenced in plea deal
The second of five defendants in a marijuana robbery-turnedmurder was sentenced to at least 12 years in prison on Tuesday afternoon, while the sentencing for the third was moved to November.
Justin Wendell Collins, 23, of Mt. Pleasant, was sentenced to 12to-25 years by Circuit Court Judge Mark Duthie. Collins pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit armed robbery on Aug. 10 for his role in the April 20, 2020, murder of Raven Tre-von Edelen, 21, of Wyoming (Mich.).
Collins wasn’t present when four men went to the Campus Habitat apartment of Edelen, of Wyoming (Mich.), to rob him of marijuana, but he did provide the gun used by Miykael Norfleat that killed him.
When imposing sentence, Duthie told Collins that while he wasn’t present, his moral culpability of the five men involved placed him near the top. In addition to providing the gun, which turned out to be stolen from Hamtramck, he had bad blood with Edelen, Duthie said.
In addition, he was on probation for a gun charge out of Clinton County.
Collins’ attorney Thomas Hausmann, Isabella County’s public defender, had asked Duthie to go soft on him, saying that he is a well-educated, eloquent young man with a committed mother.
Although the crime carried a sentencing range of 12-to-25 years, Hausman and Isabella County Prosecutor David Barberi agreed to a sentencing range of seven-to-12 years, which Duthie said would guide his sentencing.
In addition to conspiracy to commit armed robbery, Collins was also charged with open murder, assault with intent to rob while armed, first-degree home invasion, conspiracy to commit first-degree home invasion, assault with a dangerous weapon and three counts of using a gun to commit a felony. Those charges were all dropped as part of the deal.
Duthie told Collins that he was lucky to get that deal. If he’d gone to trial, a jury could have convicted him of felony murder, which in Michigan carries a sentence of life without parole. Instead, he’ll get
out of prison and still have a lot of years for a second chance.
Collins was arrested shortly after Edelen’s murder. At first, he was identified by eyewitnesses as present for the robbery, but that turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.
Duthie said that his conduct during his initial contact with the police helped sway his sentencing decision. Collins was argumentative with detectives, Duthie said, and laughed when told that Edelen was shot.
Collins was the second defendant scheduled for sentencing in the case on Tuesday. Approximately an hour before, Jesse Hinton was also set to receive an expected eight-and-ahalf to 13-year sentence for his Aug. 10 no contest plea to conspiracy to commit armed robbery.
At the start of the sentencing, Hinton’s attorney asked for an adjournment to discuss the sentence with Hinton’s family, who came to Mt. Pleasant from Chicago to watch.
His attorney — whose mic was garbled for the Zoom broadcast while she identified herself at the start — told Duthie that she needed some time to review the sentence with her client and his family so they had a firm understanding of it.
Hinton was present during the robbery. He was originally charged with open murder, assault with intent to rob while armed, conspiracy to commit firstdegree home invasion, firstdegree home invasion, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and four counts of using a gun to commit a felony.
In granting the adjournment, Duthie asked Hinton’s attorney if she intended to file a motion to withdraw his plea agreement. He also told her that doing so would put her client potentially in a very bad situation.
Should the prosecution decide to take the case to trial, a guilty verdict of felony murder carries a sentence of life without parole, he said.
Norfleat, sentenced in January after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit armed robbery, is currently serving 31-50 years as the crime’s trigger man.
Two other defendants are awaiting sentence, both of whom cooperated with the investigation and testified during various hearings.
Robert Jamison, described as the crime’s architect, pleaded guilty to unarmed robbery on Sept. 8 and is also expected to get sentenced Nov. 8.
Antony Smiles, who was the getaway driver, pleaded guilty to unarmed robbery on Sept. 21.
Armed robbery is a 15year felony.