Semaj Moran, Mich. teen, sentenced to life in prison for double-murder over fake $10 bill
(CBS/AP) PONTIAC, Mich. - A Michigan teenager has been ordered to spend life in prison for killing two women over a bogus $10 bill.
Semaj Moran, 17, was sentenced Thursday in Oakland County Circuit Court as was his adult accomplice, who was given a 39-to-90-year sentence.
Moran was found guilty in February of first-degree murder and Arnold Howard, 23, was found guilty of second-degree murder.
Authorities say Loretta Fournier, 52, and Luann Robinson, 58, were shot to death in February 2012 at the home they shared in Pontiac because the then-15-year-old Moran was upset that he was given a fake $10 bill in exchange for marijuana.
According to CBS Detroit, police say Moran shot Fournier three times - including once in the back and once in the head from a close range.
The defendant's statements reportedly say Howard rushed Robinson's home upstairs, took her purse and pushed her downstairs. Once at the bottom of the stairs Moran allegedly shot her in the head then fled with Howard.
Moran's lawyer, William Mitchell, says his client likely will be eligible for parole someday because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled it unconstitutional to send juveniles to life in prison without parole.
The station reports before Moran was sentenced, he gave a tearful apology to the victim's families and to his own asking them to forgive him, saying, "Everyone makes mistakes, and I know I made one. I could take it all back, I would. There ain't too much I can do now. It's done, and I just really want y'all to forgive me, everyone."
Mitchell reportedly said Moran had a difficult upbringing with an absent father and a mother who is in prison because when Semaj was just 2 he shot and killed his younger brother after being left unsupervised with a loaded gun.
