HILLSDALE – The last of four men arrested for the Jan. 31 break-in at the Pinnacle Emporium in Camden Village appeared in 1st District Court for sentencing on Monday, Aug. 19.
Treyshaun Omeirr Boykins, 23, pleaded guilty to breaking into a building with intent to commit theft on July 1. The case was settled through a plea agreement before a jury trial scheduled for September.
The charges of conspiracy to commit burglary, receiving and concealing a stolen motor vehicle, third-degree eluding police and resisting arrest were dropped.
Boykins’ attorney, John Daly, argued Monday that Boykins has made great efforts to get his life back on track since his Jan. 31 arrest and subsequent release on bail, and that he is gainfully employed and ready to return to high school to complete his education.
“He knows his actions were unjustified,” Daly said in requesting a stay under the Home Youth Training Act.
Hillsdale County District Attorney Neal Brady objected to a similar stay that Boykins’ three co-defendants had previously received.
Authorities believe Boykins was the getaway driver of the group that led a Michigan State Police trooper responding to the break-in on a high-speed chase (130 mph) from Camden into Indiana and Ohio before turning north onto I-69 and returning to Michigan.
The patrol officers attempted to immobilize their vehicle with stop sticks on I-69 south of Coldwater. They then exited I-69 and drove east on US 12 in Coldwater. There, the chase was finally ended with a PIT maneuver.
All four men left the vehicle after the PIT maneuver and attempted to escape on foot.
None of them told the authorities who the getaway driver was.
Dontay Dequan Banks (19), Milton Tyier Hudson (18) and Jeramiah Javon Smith (18) all pleaded guilty to breaking and entering a building with intent to commit theft and were sentenced to a token suspended sentence and fines under a HYTA deferment.
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Judge Sara S. Lisznyai gave Boykins probation on Monday to give him the chance to prove he is a man of his word.
“If you fail to do any of the things you promised me, including your education, your next step will be to attend and graduate from the Twin Counties Probation Center,” Lisznyai said.
Because Boykins’ first offense carried a prison sentence of zero to nine months, Lisznyai on Monday imposed a two-year suspended sentence with no further prison time.
— Contact reporter Corey Murray at [email protected] or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @cmurrayHDN.
