Strong defense gains dismissal of felony charge for Michigan man

On behalf of Simon & Geherin, PLLC posted in Felonies on Tuesday, August 14, 2012.

We've all heard the saying, "the devil is in the details." For one Michigan man, those details made all the difference when facing a felony charge of conspiracy to commit an armed bank robbery.According to the reports, the accused was arrested in connection with a bank robbery that occurred at a Citizens Bank on March 22 of last year. This man was not accused of being the actual individual who robbed the bank - instead, he was alleged to have assisted the actual robber by providing him with advice about how to carry out the crime and agreeing to act as a lookout. The prosecutor took this information and turned it into a conspiracy charge against the defendant. The actual robber has not yet been arrested.For most conspiracy charges, there usually has to be some type of agreement to commit a crime, and then an overt action toward implementing that agreement. In this case, the defendant's attorney moved to dismiss the case citing a lack of evidence, and, as it turned out, the Washtenaw Co unty Trial Court judge agreed. Saying that "there's nothing in this evidence that shows there was an agreement," the judge dismissed the case on July 30.Felonies are serious charges that carry severe penalties. Anyone facing a felony charge can expect the very real possibility of a prison sentence if he or she is convicted. But this case shows that prosecutors can sometimes be overzealous with their cases, or even overreach on what charges to file as they are proceeding through a felony investigation. Luckily for this Michigan man, the fact that his defense team forced the prosecution to provide evidence to support each and every element of the crime saved him some of the aggravation and embarrassment that can come with facing false allegations.If you or a loved one is facing a felony or misdemeanor charge, federal or state drug crime, violent crime, theft offense, white collar crime, juvenile crime, OWI/DUI drunk driving defense case, or a Michigan Secretary of State driver's license restoration, contact us. Dan Geherin is the best criminal attorney in Washtenaw County serving clients in Ann Arbor and throughout Southeast Michigan and can be reached at (734) 263-2780.Source: Ann Arbor.com, Charge dismissed against man accused in bank robbery, John Counts, Aug. 3, 2012