PONTIAC, Mich., Jan. 6 (UPI) -- A Michigan man who spent nearly a decade in a juvenile facility for killing a man at age 11 has drawn an adult jail sentence for drug dealing, observers said.
Nathaniel Abraham, now 22, was 11 when he shot and killed Ronnie Greene Jr. of Pontiac, Mich., in a case that attracted much publicity. Instead of being sentenced to adult jail on second-degree murder charges, Abraham was placed in a juvenile rehabilitation center, The Detroit News reported.
Abraham was released in January 2007, the day before his 21st birthday, but a few months later was found by police with 254 Ecstasy pills in his car. Oakland Circuit Judge Daniel O'Brien Monday ordered Abraham to spend 4 to 20 years behind bars in an adult prison, citing efforts made on his behalf by supporters and saying, "Quit destroying what other people have built for you. Quit it."
"This person was given a gift by the judge who sentenced him for murder; the state spent millions on his rehabilitation," the News quoted Assistant Prosecutor Beth Hand saying. Now "he thumbs his nose at authority … He thinks he is some type of celebrity and he doesn't have to abide by the rules as others."
