Toddler’s drug OD sees twist
Judge ordered to justify father’s original sentence
A Macomb County judge has been ordered to further justify his reason for sentencing a man to five years in prison for causing the drug overdose death of his toddler daughter, or resentence him.
The state Court of Appeals last week wrote that Circuit Court Judge Richard Caretti could resentence Antonio Floyd, who received five to 20 years behind bars for the 2018 Christmas Day death of 18-month-old Ava. The toddler ingested the highly potent opioid fentanyl.
But Caretti also could “rearticulate” whether the five-year term is justified when not considering Floyd’s lack of intent to kill as a reason for it, the judges wrote.
The five-year term for seconddegree murder may be the lowest in a murder case in Macomb County since 2000.
Floyd pleaded no contest to second-degree murder, which includes an intent to kill or an intent to create a risk of bodily harm that could
result in death.
Caretti in January 2020 sentenced Floyd significantly below the sentencing guideline-range of 19 to 62½ years as part of a sentencing agreement with Floyd and his attorney, Stephanie Carson.
“He’s living in hell over the death of his child, worse than any prison sentence could have,” Carson said following the sentencing.
As part of the agreement, Floyd pleaded no contest to second-degree murder, second-degree child abuse and two counts of delivery or manufacture of less than 50 grams of a controlled substance.
Macomb prosecutors appealed the sentencing.
Ava on Christmas morning drank an unknown liquid, believed to contain fentanyl, according to authorities, from a glass at the couple’s residence at Newport Apartments off Joy Boulevard in Clinton Township. That fact was verified by testimony of Ava’s 6-year-old sister. Ava was rushed to a hospital that afternoon and died.
Ava’s mother, Shantanice Barksdale, received one year in jail from Caretti in May 2020 after pleading no
contest to involuntary manslaughter and second-degree child abuse. Caretti previously dismissed a second-degree murder charge and two drug charges against her.
Prosecutors did not appeal her sentence.
The appeals judges in a 4-page opinion released last week say Caretti should not have relied so heavily on his conclusion that Floyd did not intend to kill Ava as part of his reasoning for the relatively lenient sentence for a second-degree murder case. That factor had already been considered in the formula that determines sentencing guidelines, the appeals jurists say.
“Although the trial court (Caretti) properly relied on a number of other factors to support its downward departure, it is unclear from the record whether the trial court would have imposed the same departure solely on the basis of those factors,” the court wrote. “Because the trial court’s consideration of defendant’s lack of intent to kill AF (Ava Floyd) was so integral to its explanation of why the downward departure was more proportionate to the seriousness of the offense than a sentence within the guidelines, we conclude that the justification as a whole was inadequate and constituted an abuse of discretion.”
When he sentenced Floyd
in January 2020, Caretti said it was “not a slap on the wrist” and that, in the judges’ words, “the evidentiary issues in the case very well could have resulted in defendant’s acquittal” at trial.
Also figured into the sentencing guidelines was Floyd’s December 2018 conviction by plea to second-degree home invasion and larceny of firearms for which he was originally sentenced by Caretti in March 2019 to one year in jail, two years probation and $9,400 in restitution.
Caretti later removed Floyd from probation “without improvement” due to Floyd’s new charges related to his daughter’s death.
The appeals court notes if Caretti decides to resentence Floyd, Floyd has the right to withdraw his plea.
The court also ordered the record to be revised from a conviction of manslaughter, which was apparently done in error, to second-degree murder.
A Macomb Circuit Court date has not been scheduled.
Floyd is current serving in Ernest C. Brooks Correctional Facility in Muskegon Heights, with an earliest potential release date of January 2024.
The appeals panel consisted of Jane M. Beckering, Karen M. Fort Hood and Michael J. Riordan.