Detroit man connected with street-artist slay sentenced for robbery

DETROIT -- Dionte Travis, an 18-year-old Detroit man convicted of armed robbery in connection with with the murder of a 23-year-old French street artist, has been sentenced to 16 to 40 years in prison, reports CBS Detroit.

The story made national headlines when Bilal Berreni's body was found outside the dilapidated Frederick Douglass Homes -- more commonly known as the Brewster projects -- in the summer of 2013.

No identification or passport was found on the Paris resident, who had been shot in the face. It took months for state police to identify him through fingerprints. According to family members, the young artist -- who painted large pieces in black and white on buildings -- occasionally lived as a squatter in vacant structures. The long-vacant housing project where the victim's body was discovered has since been demolished.

Last month, a hung jury led to a mistrial on murder and gun charges against Travis, who appeared Wednesday in Circuit Court. A retrial on those charges is scheduled for Nov. 30.

Meanwhile, co-defendants Drequone Rich and Jasin Curtis have both pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Berreni's death. Another suspect, who was 13 at the time of the killing, faces trial later this year. His name has not been released due to his age.