4/30/14 - A Hartland Township man serving time on a conviction of breaking into a construction site and stealing tools has again been denied a new trial. 47-year-old James Row McIntyre Jr. was ordered to serve between 4 and 30 years behind bars in 2012 after a jury found him guilty on charges of breaking and entering a vehicle with damage and possession of burglary tools. Authorities say McIntyre broke into a construction site on Toby Road in Brighton Township. McIntyre had sought to overturn a previous ruling from the Michigan Court of Appeals upholding his conviction and sentence. He alleged various reasons for his request, including prosecutorial misconduct, faulty jury instructions and insufficient evidence supporting a conviction. In denying his motion, the appeals court noted that eyewitness testimony indicated a car matching the description of one he drove was seen at the site and that had been seen driving to and from a shed that contained items stolen from the construction site. Because the prosecutorâs comments concerned witness testimony, the panel ruled they were permissible. McIntyre requested the Michigan Supreme Court overturn that ruling, but it declined to do so this week, saying it was not persuaded there were sufficient grounds to hear the case. McIntyre remains jailed at a state facility in Jackson County, with May of 2015 as his earliest release date. (JK)
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