State Supreme Court Rejects Appeal of Brighton ManState Supreme Court Rejects Appeal of Brighton Man

1/2/13 - A Brighton man serving prison time for holding four people at gunpoint in his home for several hours in 2010 has had a bid for a retrial rejected. 24-year-old Coty Lee McCauley was sentenced to serve between 10 and 22 ½ years in prison on various unlawful imprisonment and felonious assault charges. He was also ordered to serve separate two year prison sentence on felony firearms charges. The Michigan Court of Appeals rejected a motion for an appeal of his conviction and sentence in May of 2012, saying there was no merit to his claims of prosecutorial misconduct and ineffective defense counsel. McCauley then appealed that decision to the Michigan Supreme Court. It issued an opinion denying the application last week as the high court justices said they were not persuaded the questions presented should be reviewed. McCauley is serving his sentence at a facility in Saginaw County. The earliest he could be released is 2022. Brighton Police said McCauley held four acquaintances against their will at his residence on Second Street after becoming upset that someone had called police about an incident in Howell that day in which he assaulted a longtime friend with a steak knife. The Brighton standoff ended when he put the gun down, at which point one of the four victims fled and called police. (JK)