Prosecutor: Grandmother shot teen as he called 911

An Oakland County Sheriff Deputy removes the handcuffs on Sandra Layne in the court room of Oakland Circuit Judge Denise Lagnford Morris as proceedings get under way in Layne's murder trial in Pontiac, Mich. on Tuesday, March 5, 2013. / Charles V. Tines,AP Photo/Detroit News

PONTIAC, Mich. As a 17-year-old who had been shot by his grandmother pleaded with a 911 dispatcher to send help, the 75-year-old woman shot him again, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday in suburban Detroit.

Just as Jonathan Hoffman "thought he was safe ... Sandra Layne walks up and shoots him again. This time in the stomach," Paul Walton, Oakland County's chief assistant prosecutor, said during his opening statement in Layne's first-degree murder trial.

Defense attorney Jerome Sabbota countered that the diminutive Layne feared for her safety during the fatal May 18, 2012, confrontation in the West Bloomfield Township condo Hoffman shared with his grandparents.

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An autopsy revealed Hoffman was shot three times in the chest, once in the abdomen and once in his left arm. Tests showed the teen had traces of synthetic marijuana in his body.

Officers had been called to the home northwest of Detroit about two months earlier, when Layne told police she was having a difficult time because her grandson was very upset and yelling. No arrests were made that day.

Four days before that, the alternative high school senior was pulled over in nearby Farmington Hills and ticketed for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He later received a 93-day suspended sentence and was placed on 12 months' probation.

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Grandma convicted of murdering grandson

Layne is "not a murderer," Sabbota told jurors Tuesday. "She was afraid. She felt she had no choice. Why else would she shoot him? This is a tragic case."

Hoffman was living with his grandmother while his mother and father were divorcing and living outside Michigan.

"He was a troubled teen, her favorite grandson, and she took him in," Sabbota said.

In Hoffman's 911 call played during Layne's preliminary examination last summer, the teen yelled into a cellphone: "I've just been shot. My grandma shot me. I'm going to die. Help."

A few minutes later, he tells the operator: "I got shot, shot again. Please help. Help," before his voice trails off and a woman's shouts are heard in the background.

An officer testified at Layne's preliminary examination that when police arrived, she walked out of her home with her hands up and screamed "I murdered my grandson."

A Glock 9mm semiautomatic handgun was found just inside the front door. Nine spent cartridge cases also were found in the house.

Sabbota said Layne is expected to take the stand during the trial.

[nosnobs]

Isn't this an old story? Didn't this happen about a year ago?!

[Been-there]

So many off center comments, Have any of you commenting been there?
Have you looked your teenage son or daughter straight in the face and being frightened by the intensity of the rage you see there?
Have you had your cash or jewelry stolen by your precious child?
How about being physically threatened when they fight being brought home after trashing out on K2? It will change you. Yes details are missing from the story. No Grandma shouldn't have shot him again. She tried to help him, families do that sometimes even after its too late. I have been there. Gramdma is suffering her own piece of hell right now.

[ENDER7727]

Its such a relaxed written article. BUT why the heck did she shoot him. There are a lot of questions. I really didnt see any reason to mention that he had a small amout of synthetic marijuana. That has nothing to do with why she killed him. And Im guessing that he was screaming help help. The way they wrote it made it sound like he was calmly talking on the phone.

[Reavin]

Him having synthetic marijuana may have everything to do with it. We don't know what state of mind he was in or how he reacted to the synth. marijuana. If we took out all of the irrelevant details the story would simply be. "Human dies."

[seadoosnipe]

The article does leave out a lot of info, that might allow you a better comment, but lets say this grandmother, who made it through life to age 75, feared for her life. The article does say he was in an alternative school and had been cited for having a small amout of pot. I could go on to assume that this grandmother had it in her mind, that if she only wounded him, he would eventually get well, then attack her and kill her. I believe that is why she killed him. Not because her mind was failing. I know, if I were to pull a gun on someone (which I never have and don't even own one), I think I'd want to make sure they were dead for fear of them coming back and getting me. She did not hide, if he were only wounded and he came back, he could hide and surprise her, leaving her no chance to defend herself. I also believe at 75, if she were a bad person (murderer), she'd have already killed someone way before now. Here again is a problem that could have been averted if when the police were called the first time, and did something about it, she may not have had to go to such extremes. Though I don't support killing someone, I think she felt she had no other alternative.

[seadoosnipe]

No, she did not kill him when he started living there. Though the story isn't complete, I think there is much more to this than what we have available to read. For the period of time he lived there, we don't know what kind of threats she was living under. From what I read, when the cops were called the first time, she said he was screaming (out of control) at her, and for all we know, making threats to her at that time. The law did nothing to ease this ladies suffering, at the hands of a relative. This is also senior abuse. If you have a neighbor who is mentally unstable and he comes onto your property to threaten you, and if you really fear your life is in danger, then you have to do what you feel is proper. But, like her, you may have to pay the consequence. You also have to look at her health. Someone in their 30's or 40's, may not feel as threatened as someone in their 70's or 80's. I think common sense and logic to your situation is key. If you "TRULY" feel you are in danger, why wait for them to make the first move? If someone in your immediate area is violent, or shows they can be violent, you risk being surprised and killed yourself. I'm sorry, but I want to live.

[oldoc44]

Yeah, good we got this guy before he had a chance to breed, huh!

[oldoc44]

Hard to believe that this kid was hit all those times by a 9mm and kept on going! This sort of needless killing goes on routinely due to untrained people keeping a gun at home or on their person for "protection" with no serious training. If this kid was out of control, just call the kops and ultimately sign him into psych obs. He should have been in some sort of counseling for his drug arrest anyway - but the funds are all cut and going to Iraq and other such projects! Sad.

[Reavin]

The cops had been called several times. It's not that easy to have somebody removed. We don't know the circumstances that lead up to the shooting.

[seadoosnipe]

"Sign him into Psyc"... I've seent this happen. When someone is sent to an institution, when they are deemed safe to society, they will let them back on the streets. Sometime, without the vicitm (if there is one) even knowing they were released. Then, the person show up on the door step to the one that had them committed, and kill them. There was an article in the news sometime back, where this happened, the person got a restraining order, but what can that do to protect someone in real danger. The person did not care about the restraning order, went to the home and shot the ex-spose. Just calling the cops doesn't eleminate your threat. If at all, it only gets that person more angry at you, ready to do bodily harm when they return.

[keote_poet]

NRA released a statement, if only he had a gun too, he would be alive..

[RetiredArmy_Nurse]

If we had sane gun control laws that prohibit these high round clips, she might have been relegated to only fire 6 bullets instead of 8. The 6 bullets likely would have killed this kid as well as 8, but maybe not. Just another example of a gun in the home killing a family member, not the dangerous "intruder" or the protecting her from the government that the NRA stokes so much irrational fear about. You have to wonder what an old lady like this was even doing with a Glock pistol in the home.

[Reavin]

I'm not sure where you're from, but, in this world, a woman has every right to defend herself, even if it means from her own grandson. Yes, children and grandchildren have been known to murder their own parents or grandparents. Let's wait until the facts come out before we judge this woman too harshly.

[LyingPols]

A teenager high on drugs is a danger to himself and others.

[Xthes]

... stay away from West Bloomfield, Michigan ...

[skeezix06]

You just don't shoot someone when they're calling 911. I'm guessing that, given her age, there's a possibility her mind was not working as well as it had when she was younger and someone didn't notice but the fact remains you don't shoot someone who's calling for help because they're clearly no longer a threat. It's a possibility that he may have never been a threat anywhere but inside her head. Other than marijuana and drug paraphernalia we have no indication from this article that he was threatening her.

BTW, what exactly was drug paraphernalia in this case? Was it papers to roll the marijuana or something that indicated more serious drug use?

[twmat311]

Too much missing info in this story (and the 2012 report links); it does make you wonder what kind of grandmother (who owns a Glock!) shoots her already chest-wounded "favorite" grandson while he's pleading with 911 to save him.

[Reavin]

When I read the article headline I thought the same thing, but as I read the story I'm not so sure. It sounds like he got off the phone (his voice trailed off) then when he came back he says he was shot again. Now, for all we know the grandmother was hunkered down in a bathroom and the grandson went in there then got shot again. The only real fact we know is the fact we don't know all the facts. So, let's wait until the whole story comes out.

[twmat311]

She takes in her favorite grandson during parents' divorce, then finds out he's more than she bargained for. Couldn't she send him back to mom or dad - or was her custody non-reversible in some way?

And if he was her favorite...the others (if any) must have been real gems.