11/15/13 - Livingston County Prosecutor Bill Vailliencourt feels justice was served in the case of a Howell Township resident charged after intentionally killing a man at the Livingston Conservation and Sports Association gun range in 2012. 20-year-old Jessce Stearn was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison for his guilty plea to 2nd degree murder and a separate felony firearms charge. He said Stearn was originally charged with manslaughter in the June 2012 death of 21-year-old Charles Kimball, but the charge was upgraded after they learned of statements Stearn made to fellow inmates in the Livingston County Jail that he had intentionally killed Kimball over an unpaid debt. Vailliencourt says the case came to a successful resolution primarily due to the dedication and hard work of detectives who investigated the case when it originally occurred, but continued to delve deeper even after it was presented and initially charged. He says they eventually uncovered additional evidence and learned of the statements made to jail inmates, bringing a tragic case for the victimâs family to a close. Vailliencourt says Stearnâs plea ensured he was held accountable for his conduct and that he would serve a lengthy prison sentence. Vailliencourt adds that the case relied in significant ways on jail informants, and thereâs always a strong possibility in those circumstances that a person could only be convicted of a lesser charge and in this case, it might have resulted in only a short prison sentence. He says when the case was originally charged, there was serious concern that he could even be placed on Holmes Youthful Trainee Act status and might not end up having a conviction on his permanent record.
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