DETROIT (AP) - A young man who pleaded guilty in the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old French street artist during a robbery outside an abandoned Detroit housing project was sentenced last Friday to 25 to 40 years in prison.
Jasin Curtis, 18, of Detroit, earlier pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The sentence was in line with an agreement with prosecutors and includes two additional years for the use of a firearm during a felony.
"I want to apologize to the victim's family" Curtis said before learning his punishment in Wayne County Circuit Court.
Bilal Berreni, of Paris, was found dead with a gunshot wound to the face in July 2013. He had no identification, and it took seven months before police identified him through fingerprints.
Two other young men, Drequone Rich and Dionte Travis, are charged with first-degree murder and other charges. They are scheduled for trial in September. A boy who was 13 at the time of the killing also is charged.
Police have said the boy told officers that he and his friends were shooting dice when they decided to rob and kill someone. The boy also said he and his friends took $300, credit cards and a backpack from Berreni, police said.
Published: Thu, Jun 18, 2015
