State of Michigan v Cruz

Outcome: Found guilty of manslaughter

Description: In a case whose facts were pretty clearly a gang related execution of one drug dealer by another drug dealer ended with a jury returning a verdict of guilty of manslaughter. Mr. Cruz went from facing life without the possibility of parole to six to fifteen years in prison. Personally I found the verdict very surprising since one of the three shooters testified against my client as to exactly what happened so I certainly was not expecting a verdict of anything less than first degree murder based on the description of how the three of them marched into the home of this rival drug dealer and shot him while he was unarmed sitting on his couch.