Man accused of killing daughter’s sometime boyfriend makes deal
A Pontiac man convicted of murder and then granted a new trial has reached a plea deal with prosecutors.
At a hearing Thursday before Oakland County
Circuit Judge Martha Anderson, 53-year-old Kenneth Hawkins pleaded no contest to manslaughter for the 2018 slaying of Lanard Curtaindoll, an on-again, off-again boyfriend of Hawkins’ daughter, Lakeisha Hawkins. Curtaindoll, 41, was fatally shot and his body was hidden under brush and debris in a Pontiac field until it was discovered in an advanced state of decomposition nearly five months later.
In the plea deal, prosecutors dropped charges of first-degree premeditated murder and mutilation of a dead body, but reinstated weapons offenses. For those crimes, felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony,
Hawkins also pleaded no contest to, per the plea deal. He also pleaded guilty to being a habitual offender.
The deal calls for a minimum sentence of six years in prison, but because of his habitual offender status, Hawkins could be sentenced to up to life in prison. Manslaughter is punishable by up to 15 years in prison for non-habitual offenders.
Hawkins’ habitual offender status is due to prior convictions for assault with intent to do great bodily harm, felonious assault and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Anderson will sentence Hawkins on Dec. 12.
In late 2019, Hawkins was tried and convicted for Curtaindoll’s murder and related offenses. But approximately two years later, the Court of Appeals ordered a new trial for him — ruling that errors were made the first time around.
Specifically, the appeals court judges said the trial court should not have permitted testimony from two women describing assaults against them by Hawkins, ruling that the prosecution didn’t establish relevancy and that the testimony could have unfairly prejudiced the jury.
Meanwhile, Hawkins’ daughter is serving time in prison in connection with Curtaindoll’s murder — sentenced to 30 months to 10 years for accessory after the fact to a felony, and another two years for a firearms offense. Her earliest release date is April 24, 2024.