FeedsMan pleads no contest in baby’s death
A Canton Township man who mortally injured his girlfriend’s 8-month-old son in January avoided life in prison when he reached a plea agreement with prosecutors Monday.
Carlee Hines Jr., 24, pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and avoided going to trial for the death of Eryck Fossett.
The plea sets a range of possible sentences for Hines, from 22 to 60 years maximum behind bars.
“That (plea) offer is slightly below his guidelines,” said Lora Weingarden, of the Wayne County prosecutor’s office. Hines’ attorneys also reviewed the defendant’s sentencing guidelines, which state the applicable sentence in a case.
Hines spoke quietly in the affirmative when Judge Carole F. Youngblood asked him if he understood the plea agreement. Youngblood also asked Weingarden to summarize the findings of the prosecution’s investigation into the incident.
Hines had originally been charged with felony murder. Police said he lost his temper with the baby’s constant crying when he was babysitting the child at his girlfriend’s house on Sheldon Road on the evening of Jan. 9. He punched and squeezed the child, causing multiple injuries to the chin, chest, abdomen and back and breaking several of the baby’s ribs. The infant’s spleen, liver and lungs were also bruised. The injuries resulted in the death of the child, found by Hines’ mother the next morning.
Hines also admitted to being “heavily under narcotics” at the time of the incident, defense attorneys said Monday.
Youngblood scheduled a sentencing date of Aug. 29 at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in Detroit.
The plea agreement was made on the day that Hines’ trial was to begin in the Third Circuit Court. If tried and convicted of felony murder, he could have received a life sentence.
“We think that (22-60 years) is a very generous offer,” said Weingarden of the plea bargain.
