MARQUETTE - Thomas Donald Teeple, 27, pleaded guilty to a federal information charging him with voluntary manslaughter, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1112, on June 30. The offense carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a three-year period of supervised release and a mandatory special assessment of $100. Teeple's guilty plea stems from the stabbing death of 23-year-old Jason "Farley" Lyons on Sept. 10, 2004, at a party on the Bay Mills Indian Reservation. He is scheduled to be sentenced sometime in October.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie A. Hagen said that in the federal court system there is no minimum sentence, like there is in the state's, and that sentencing is done in months and not in years. The minimum sentence Teeple will face is solely up to Judge Sutton, who will be presiding over the case. Hagen added that Sutton would make his determination by factoring in the defendant's previous criminal history and aggravating circumstances in the case. Family and friends of Lyons can write Victim Impact statements expressing how they were affected by his murder, and mail them to Hagen, who will in turn present them to the court to help sway the judge during sentencing.
"In my professional opinion, there is absolutely no chance of [Teeple] getting off on these charges," Hagen said. "That probably would not have been the case if we had pursued second-degree murder charges."
On Oct. 7, 2004, the grand jury, after making a determination where there was probable cause, returned an indictment charging Teeple with second-degree murder. Hagen said that after further investigation of the strengths and weaknesses of the case the prosecution decided that voluntary manslaughter was the best way to go. For example, discrepancies in witness statements, in addition to the fact that the majority of the witnesses had been drinking, would help strengthen the defense's case that Teeple had felt threatened and had acted in self-defense.
"[Teeple] was going to argue self-defense and that other people physically assaulted him," she said. "According to him, he felt threatened because he didn't know anyone [at the party] and that there were people there who were physically aggressive towards him."
After learning that Teeple would be facing voluntary manslaughter charges and not second-degree murder charges as they had expected, a member of the Lyons' family, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed their disgust at the news.
"It's bothering all of us - knowing that he could be back here living in our community around all of us like nothing happened," they said. "He shouldn't be allowed to get out of prison. Jason [Lyons] is not coming back to his family because of what [Teeple] did. Because of him, there are two little boys that will never know their dad."
Anyone who wishes to write a victim impact statement to the court on how Lyons' death affected their lives, can address it to - Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie A. Hagen, P.O. Box 208, Grand Rapids, Mich., 49501.
