MARQUETTE - United States Attorney Margaret M. Chiara announced that on Dec. 19, 28-year-old Thomas Donald Teeple, of Middletown, New York, was sentenced to eight years in prison for one count of Voluntary Manslaughter, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1112. His sentence also included three years of supervised release upon discharge from prison and restitution in the amount of $7,638.04.
Teeple pleaded guilty to the charge on June 30, 2005, which arose from the Sept. 10, 2004 stabbing death of 23-year-old Jason "Farley" Lyons at a party in Bay Mills. According to Bay Mills Police Department reports, both men attended the same party at a house located on the reservation. After a brief verbal argument escalated into a physical altercation, Teeple fatally stabbed the unarmed Lyons three times with a blue, butterfly knife. As a result of his plea, Teeple faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Still reeling from the shocking news of Teeple's sentencing, one member of Lyons' family, who wished to remain anonymous, said that his family is still trying to figure out the federal sentencing guidelines.
"It's disgusting," they said of Teeple's eight-year sentence. "I can name three people right now, from this very community, who got longer sentences for a lot less. The federal sentencing guidelines are just wrong. I don't know how this can happen."
