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http://www.freep.com/news/locway/gun7_20030107.htm
BY SUZETTE HACKNEY
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office will pursue second-degree murder charges against individuals who supply illegal guns used in killings, Prosecutor Michael Duggan said Monday.
HIGHLIGHTS OF AJANEE POLLARD CASE
Feb. 25, 2002: Ajanee Pollard, 7, becomes the third child killed in Detroit in 2002 when she is shot outside her Detroit home. Her mother and three siblings are injured.
Feb. 27: Willie Robinson and Joel Allen, both 24, are charged with first-degree murder in Ajanee's death.
March 1: Bryant Daniels is charged with second-degree murder for supplying the gun that killed Ajanee.
Aug. 23: Robinson and Allen are convicted. They are sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Jan. 6, 2003: Daniels pleads guilty to second-degree murder.
Duggan's announcement followed a guilty plea by a Detroit man accused of supplying the military-style assault rifle that killed 7-year-old Ajanee Pollard and injured her mother and three siblings in a drive-by shooting last February.
Bryant Daniels, 30, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder before Wayne County Circuit Judge Leonard Townsend. He faces 7 to 15 years in prison, and is to be sentenced Jan. 21.
Duggan called the plea historic because it is the first time his office has obtained a murder conviction against the supplier of a gun when that individual did not know the weapon would be used in a killing.
"Every day in this city, people are providing guns to people with no more thought than if they were really selling groceries or anything else," Duggan said. "The thing we are trying to say today is this: You supply a gun to a criminal and that criminal kills somebody, we are charging you with second-degree murder. We hope that today is the beginning of slowing the illegal handgun trade in the city of Detroit."
Ajanee was killed by a gunshot wound to the head on Feb. 25 as she sat in a car in front of her home in northwest Detroit. Her mother, Liz Niebrzydowski, 25, and Ajanee's siblings, Jason Pollard Jr., 6; Aerica Pollard, 6, and Alyiah Pollard, 4, also were struck by bullets. The family had gathered inside the car and were on their way to the mall when the shots were fired.
Willie Robinson and Joel Allen, both 24 at the time of the shooting, were convicted of first-degree murder in August. Allen drove the car as Robinson fired nearly a dozen rounds from the M1 carbine. Robinson had been arguing with Ajanee's cousin and uncle and thought he was being threatened for a month in a dispute over a $40 radio. Robinson told police he did not know children were in the car when he fired the weapon.
Robinson and Allen are serving life in prison, but are appealing their convictions. Ajanee's story and the aftermath of her death was featured in the Free Press last month.
For Daniels' part, he admitted that he gave Robinson the gun, but he thought the weapon would be used to scare Ajanee's cousin and uncle. Daniels had bought the weapon on the street for $100 about eight years ago.
Detroit Police Chief Jerry Oliver sent a warning to those who settle their disputes with gun violence. "We're not going to tolerate it," he said. "This gives us encouragement as a police department to go after the secondary or support people in these incidents."
Ajanee's father, Jason Pollard, said he was torn between sympathy for Daniels and justice for his murdered child. He said he felt sorry for Daniels because he did not know Robinson would use the gun to kill Ajanee. Still, he added, if Daniels hadn't given Robinson the gun, Ajanee might be alive.
"I'm just glad it's over with," Pollard said, hours after watching Daniels plead guilty. "I hope I can try now to put my life back together."
Duggan said he hopes to set a precedent with the case, especially in light of the recent killings of a Livonia family. Livonia businessman Marco Pesce, 38; his son, Carlo, 12, and daughters Sabrina, 9, and Melissa, 6, and Pesce's mother, Maria Vergati, who was visiting from Italy, were killed Dec. 21 in their home.
John Wolfenbarger, 31, of Detroit and Dennis Lincoln, 27, of Flint have been charged with five counts of first-degree murder. Wolfenbarger, a felon, could not have legally bought a gun in Michigan. Duggan said there are witnesses who say Wolfenbarger tried to buy a gun weeks prior to the shooting.
Now, Livonia police have shifted the investigation to find out who gave or sold the gun used to kill the Pesce family.
"I believe that anybody who supplied a gun to a felon is acting in wanton and willful disregard for human life," Duggan said.
BY SUZETTE HACKNEY
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office will pursue second-degree murder charges against individuals who supply illegal guns used in killings, Prosecutor Michael Duggan said Monday.
HIGHLIGHTS OF AJANEE POLLARD CASE
Feb. 25, 2002: Ajanee Pollard, 7, becomes the third child killed in Detroit in 2002 when she is shot outside her Detroit home. Her mother and three siblings are injured.
Feb. 27: Willie Robinson and Joel Allen, both 24, are charged with first-degree murder in Ajanee's death.
March 1: Bryant Daniels is charged with second-degree murder for supplying the gun that killed Ajanee.
Aug. 23: Robinson and Allen are convicted. They are sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Jan. 6, 2003: Daniels pleads guilty to second-degree murder.
Duggan's announcement followed a guilty plea by a Detroit man accused of supplying the military-style assault rifle that killed 7-year-old Ajanee Pollard and injured her mother and three siblings in a drive-by shooting last February.
Bryant Daniels, 30, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder before Wayne County Circuit Judge Leonard Townsend. He faces 7 to 15 years in prison, and is to be sentenced Jan. 21.
Duggan called the plea historic because it is the first time his office has obtained a murder conviction against the supplier of a gun when that individual did not know the weapon would be used in a killing.
"Every day in this city, people are providing guns to people with no more thought than if they were really selling groceries or anything else," Duggan said. "The thing we are trying to say today is this: You supply a gun to a criminal and that criminal kills somebody, we are charging you with second-degree murder. We hope that today is the beginning of slowing the illegal handgun trade in the city of Detroit."
Ajanee was killed by a gunshot wound to the head on Feb. 25 as she sat in a car in front of her home in northwest Detroit. Her mother, Liz Niebrzydowski, 25, and Ajanee's siblings, Jason Pollard Jr., 6; Aerica Pollard, 6, and Alyiah Pollard, 4, also were struck by bullets. The family had gathered inside the car and were on their way to the mall when the shots were fired.
Willie Robinson and Joel Allen, both 24 at the time of the shooting, were convicted of first-degree murder in August. Allen drove the car as Robinson fired nearly a dozen rounds from the M1 carbine. Robinson had been arguing with Ajanee's cousin and uncle and thought he was being threatened for a month in a dispute over a $40 radio. Robinson told police he did not know children were in the car when he fired the weapon.
Robinson and Allen are serving life in prison, but are appealing their convictions. Ajanee's story and the aftermath of her death was featured in the Free Press last month.
For Daniels' part, he admitted that he gave Robinson the gun, but he thought the weapon would be used to scare Ajanee's cousin and uncle. Daniels had bought the weapon on the street for $100 about eight years ago.
Detroit Police Chief Jerry Oliver sent a warning to those who settle their disputes with gun violence. "We're not going to tolerate it," he said. "This gives us encouragement as a police department to go after the secondary or support people in these incidents."
Ajanee's father, Jason Pollard, said he was torn between sympathy for Daniels and justice for his murdered child. He said he felt sorry for Daniels because he did not know Robinson would use the gun to kill Ajanee. Still, he added, if Daniels hadn't given Robinson the gun, Ajanee might be alive.
"I'm just glad it's over with," Pollard said, hours after watching Daniels plead guilty. "I hope I can try now to put my life back together."
Duggan said he hopes to set a precedent with the case, especially in light of the recent killings of a Livonia family. Livonia businessman Marco Pesce, 38; his son, Carlo, 12, and daughters Sabrina, 9, and Melissa, 6, and Pesce's mother, Maria Vergati, who was visiting from Italy, were killed Dec. 21 in their home.
John Wolfenbarger, 31, of Detroit and Dennis Lincoln, 27, of Flint have been charged with five counts of first-degree murder. Wolfenbarger, a felon, could not have legally bought a gun in Michigan. Duggan said there are witnesses who say Wolfenbarger tried to buy a gun weeks prior to the shooting.
Now, Livonia police have shifted the investigation to find out who gave or sold the gun used to kill the Pesce family.
"I believe that anybody who supplied a gun to a felon is acting in wanton and willful disregard for human life," Duggan said.
