15-year-old Daniel Bell III has accepted a plea offer from the St. Clair County Prosecutor’s Office in a recent attempted murder and robbery case. Unfortunately for Bell, the plea offer doesn’t lighten the load all that much and this young teen is facing at a substantial amount of prison time in his future.
Bell was arrested on July 23rd, along with his 17-year-old girlfriend for stealing numerous items from cars. After stealing money, cigarettes, keys and a gun from cars on Cove Road, a homeowner came out and confronted the pair. Bell and the homeowner got into an altercation and the homeowner took Bell’s cell phone from him.
Bell then got into a car with the intention of leaving but discovered that he no longer had his phone. He got out and went back to confront the homeowner in the hopes of getting it back.The homeowner wouldn’t give it to him and so Bell fired two shots at the man.
Both Bell and his girlfriend Raiven Wesley, were arrested. Bell was charged with two counts of attempted murder, one count of larceny of firearms, one count of carrying a concealed weapon, one count of felony firearm, one count of breaking and entering a vehicle with damage to the vehicle, and two counts of breaking and entering a vehicle less than $200.
Wesley was also charged with numerous felonies although her charges are less severe than Bells’. She is charged with single counts of breaking and entering a vehicle with damage, larceny of a firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, and two counts of assault and battery, and of breaking and entering a vehicle to steal property less than $200. Wesley chose to waive her preliminary hearing and has been bound over for trial.
Plea agreement and demeanor of the defendant
In the plea agreement that Bell accepted, he pleaded guilty to all of the larceny and weapons related charges but did not plead guilty to the attempted murder charges. The attempted murder charges were dismissed as part of the plea offer and instead Bell pled guilty to two felony counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder. In addition, Bell will testify in Wesley’s case as part of his plea agreement.
According to witnesses who were present at Bell’s plea hearing, he started crying the moment he walked into the courtroom. District Judge Cynthia Platzer explained to the court that it will be about five to six weeks before Bell makes an appearance in the circuit court, which means that he will remain locked up in the Macomb County Juvenile Center for the duration of that time because he was not granted bail.
This is a troubling situation. Because defendant Bell is a minor, some people believe that he should not be held accountable for his actions in the same capacity as an adult. However, according to the criminal defense lawyers in the The Kronzek Firm office in Oakland County, most prosecutors would charge an underaged defendant as an adult in a case like this due to the severity of these violent and dangerous crimes. Had Bell been convicted on the attempted murder counts he was facing before accepting the plea agreement, he would be a candidate for a possible life sentence.