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Sandra Layne, Mich. grandmother, is charged with murder after shooting grandson 8 times, police say
Sandra Layne, 74, appears in handcuffs at the 48th District Count in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. for the shooting death of her 17-year-old grandson
/ Max Ortiz, AP Photo/The Detroit News(CBS/AP) BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Sandra Layne, a 74-year-old Michigan woman, has been charged with murder for shooting her 17-year-old grandson to death in the condo they shared northwest of Detroit.
Photos: Grandma shot grandson 8 times
Police said Jonathan Hoffman told a 911 dispatcher that he had been shot in the chest by his grandmother and was "going to die," The Associated Press reported. When officers arrived at the upscale condo, Layne was waiting inside.
"She put the gun on the floor after being ordered so by officers," Detective Brad Boulet said in a Monday court hearing. "She exclaimed she had just murdered her grandson."
A West Bloomfield Township detective told a judge that eight entry and exit wounds were found in Hoffman's body after the Friday afternoon shooting. Police said Layne used a .40-caliber handgun to pump the bullets into the high school student.
Hoffman was completing his senior year at an alternative high school near Farmington and lived with his maternal grandparents while his divorced parents settled in Arizona, according to his father Michael Hoffman.
Layne's lawyer, Jerome Sabbota, said Hoffman was troubled and Layne fired her handgun at her grandson because she was afraid and felt she had no choice.
Layne's other attorney, Mitchell Ribitwer, told reporters Monday that drugs allegedly belonging to the teen were found at the condo after Hoffman was killed. Ribitwer said police also visited Layne's home in March because of a domestic disturbance.
"I spoke to the officer who responded, and he indicated this young man was totally out of control in the street," Ribitwer told reporters Monday. "He was derogatory to his grandmother. He was yelling and shouting and almost got into it with the police."
But regardless of his son's behavior, the teen was unarmed and didn't deserve to be shot to death, Michael Hoffman said to the AP.
Prosecutors had no comment after the hearing. Neither did Layne's husband and other relatives, although they attended the hearing.
Layne has been charged with open murder and is being held without bond. An open murder charge allows a jury to decide whether a first- or second-degree charge applies after hearing evidence. A not guilty plea was entered on her behalf and a pre-examination conference for Layne was set for Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Hoffman's funeral is set for Tuesday.
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