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A judge ordered no additional jail time Thursday for a security guard for his role in the death of a man who repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe,” while pinned to the ground at a Detroit-area mall in 2014.
Lucius Hamilton was one of four guards charged years later in the death of McKenzie Cochran, who had an enlarged heart, but the only one convicted.
Hamilton, 61, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter on the eve of trial, while the others were quickly acquitted by an Oakland County jury Aug. 23.
Judge Martha Anderson sentenced Hamilton, 61, to two days in jail, with credit for time served, according to online records. It was a significant break: The judge had indicated in August that a 90-day jail sentence was likely, but that was before the trial and acquittal of other guards.
Defense attorney Mohammed Nasser had asked for 90 days of house arrest in a court filing earlier this week. He told The Associated Press that he believes the judge was influenced by Hamilton's remorse and his “desire to resolve this matter.”
“The judge had the opportunity to hear the factual scenario of what happened at trial,” Nasser said after the hearing. “Do I think justice was served? Absolutely.”
Emails seeking comment from state prosecutors were not immediately answered.
Northland Center security guards were called to confront Cochran, 25, after he made threatening remarks to a jewelry shop owner. The encounter began with two guards and the use of pepper spray but grew to five guards as they tried to handcuff him.
Defense attorneys argued that the guards were protecting themselves and mall patrons by trying to bring Cochran under control. The cause of death was asphyxiation.
An expert testifying at trial for the defense said Cochran could have been handcuffed in just 30 seconds if he had not resisted.
In 2014, the local prosecutor declined to file charges in the case of Cochran, who was Black. But Michigan's attorney general reopened the case in 2020 after the high-profile death of George Floyd, a Black man who was pinned to the ground by Minneapolis police. Prosecutors did not allege race to be a factor in Cochran’s death.
