News (AP) - Man found guilty in Mich. death penalty trial

By Corey Williams Associated Press Writer DETROIT (AP) -- A man accused of killing an armored-truck courier was found guilty Tuesday in Detroit and could face a death sentence, which can be sought since the case is in federal court. Timothy O'Reilly was convicted on six counts including murder and bank robbery. The penalty phase of the trial will start next Monday with the same jury, defense attorney Harold Gurewitz said. "It will be up to the jury to decide what the penalty will be: life without parole or death," he said. A hearing to discuss motions in the case will be held today. Armored-truck courier Norman Stephens was shot to death while replenishing ATMs during a middle-of-the-night robbery at Dearborn Federal Credit Union in 2001. Prosecutors have said O'Reilly bragged about the killing during a secretly recorded prison conversation in 2004. He was being held in state prison in a separate case. At the start of the murder trial, prosecutors said O'Reilly shot Stephens in the back and legs. They said the attack was planned weeks in advance. Defense attorneys have said another man shot the 30-year-old Stephens. Another defense attorney, Richard Kammen, has said O'Reilly took part in the robbery but was "clueless" and incapable of plotting the heist. The defense said O'Reilly was living in Camarillo, Calif., when he came under the spell of co-defendant Norman Duncan, a Detroit native who encouraged him to move to Michigan. Michigan has no death penalty under state charges, but it can be sought in federal court. The government has indicated it also would pursue death sentences for Duncan and co-defendant Kevin Watson when they stand trial. The last death penalty trial in Detroit was in 2003, when a drug dealer was convicted of killing a rival. The jury, however, declined to sentence John Bass to death. In western Michigan, a federal jury in 2002 put Marvin Gabrion on death row for killing a woman in a remote lake in a national forest. His case still is being appealed. Published: Thu, Aug 5, 2010

––––––––––––––––––––
 Subscribe to the Legal News!
 https://test.legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available