Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Leonard White, 16, convicted of voluntary manslaughter, will spend at least 4 years in prison. That's not enough, says the mother of the 17-year-old who died.
PONTIAC — A Walled Lake teenager accused in the stabbing death of a West Bloomfield teenager was sentenced as an adult to 4-15 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections Wednesday. That isn't long enough, said the mother of the 17-year-old who died. "I do believe with all of my heart that the jury made a mistake," said Amy O'Brien, in between sobs, as she read from a prepared statement. "I believe you, Leonard, should get life ... (White) murdered half of me." Leonard White, 16, sat stoically in a baby blue-colored sweater in front of a packed courtroom of family and friends who openly wept after the sentence was announced. Also in attendance was the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who said that he knew the victim and his family. White was …
42.65302
-83.3279
1200 N Telegraph Rd, Pontiac, MI
Oakland County Circuit Court
/articles/teen-sentenced-as-adult-in-west-bloomfield-stabbing
/locations/6168425
'We've lost two children today — one to the graveyard and one to prison,' said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, in court today for the sentencing of 16-year-old Leonard White.
PONTIAC — The Rev. Jesse Jackson made an appearance Wednesday in Oakland County Circuit Court at the sentencing hearing involving the killing of a West Bloomfield teenager. "We've lost two children today — one to the graveyard and one to prison," said Jackson on the sentencing of Leonard White, 16, of Walled Lake. Jackson said that he knew the family of the victim, Johnathan Rickman, 17, of West Bloomfield, and that the boy kept a photo of Jackson in his bedroom. Jackson arrived in court as Rickman's mother, Amy O'Brien, of Rochester, was reading a prepared statement to Judge Wendy Potts. Afterward, he consoled Rickman's father, Roderick Rickman. "I hurt for both families. There are no winners in this case, and I hope some lesson will be …
42.65302
-83.3279
1200 N Telegraph Rd, Pontiac, MI
Oakland County Circuit Court
/articles/rev-jackson-in-court-for-west-bloomfield-stabbing-sentencing
/locations/6167677
Leonard White, 16, faces up to 15 years in prison after being found guilty in the June death of 17-year-old Johnathan Rickman in West Bloomfield.
PONTIAC — A Walled Lake teenager convicted in the stabbing death of a West Bloomfield teenager could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison today. Leonard White, 16, was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter Dec. 12 in the June 4 death of 17-year-old Johnathan Rickman, who died of a single stab wound to the abdomen after an altercation at a party in the Chelsea Park subdivision of West Bloomfield. Although the case was heard in Oakland County Circuit Court, the venue in which adults are tried, Judge Wendy Potts will decide whether White will actually serve his sentence as an adult or juvenile, or whether he will receive a "blended" sentence. The maximum sentence for voluntary manslaughter is 15 years. Roderick Rickman, the victim's …
42.65302
-83.3279
1200 N Telegraph Rd, Pontiac, MI
Oakland County Circuit Court
/articles/teen-convicted-in-stabbing-to-be-sentenced-today
/locations/6161169
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Several stories defined West Bloomfield Patch in 2011. Today, we'll look back on the shocking death of a local teenager.
Patch came in to West Bloomfield in February of what will be remembered by many as a long, interesting year in the township. Between several interesting, significant, and relevant issues which turned into debate which turned into stories, videos, and photos, Patch was in a fairly unique position of providing the forum for these stories – and residents views on them – to be heard. Today, we'll begin to look back on 2011 by remembering a key issue: Johnathan Rickman ran out from his friend's parents' home in West Bloomfield into the hot summer on Saturday evening, June 4, where he was stabbed once, in the middle of the street. Depending on witness testimony during the ensuing trial, he was either crying in fear or laughing to tease the then-…
Friday, December 9, 2011
Leonard White, 16, faces an open charge of murder in the stabbing death of 17-year-old Johnathan Rickman in June.
PONTIAC — An Oakland County Circuit Court jury went into deliberations Friday morning to decide the fate of Walled Lake teenager Leonard White, who faces an open charge of murder in the stabbing death of a West Bloomfield teen in June. White, who was 15 at the time of the June 4 stabbing incident which took the life of Johnathan Rickman, 17, of West Bloomfield, testified Thursday that he was acting in self-defense after two years of bullying and being beaten up that day. Closing arguments were made Friday before jurors left to decide on an open charge of murder and assault with a dangerous weapon. The jury remained in deliberations for six hours Friday and was asked to return Monday morning. "Being really, really mad for being beaten up — …
42.65302
-83.3279
1200 N Telegraph Rd, Pontiac, MI
Oakland County Circuit Court
/articles/jury-deliberates-fate-of-16-year-old
/locations/5983625
Monday, December 5, 2011
The victim's father recounted the last day of son's life while friends described the altercation that led to the West Bloomfield teen's death. Respondent Leonard White, 16, is expected to be called to testify this week.
PONTIAC — The jury trial for Leonard White, the Walled Lake 16-year-old accused in the stabbing death of 17-year-old Johnathan Rickman of West Bloomfield on June 4, began Monday with jury selection and witness testimony. The victim’s father, Roderick Rickman, well-known in the community as a businessman, broke down in tears while on the stand in front of Judge Wendy Potts at Oakland County Circuit Court. Rickman testified that on June 4, he and his son had made plans to attend a ceremony at the Renaissance Center in Detroit to deliver high school scholarships through a charitable organization in which Rickman was involved. They were to meet at the boy's grandmother's house in Detroit to drive to the event together. However, Roderick …
42.65302
-83.3279
1200 N Telegraph Rd, Pontiac, MI
Oakland County Circuit Court
/articles/jury-trial-begins-for-teenager-accused-in-stabbing-death
/locations/5952967
The defendant, accused of stabbing a West Bloomfield teenager last summer, remains at Children's Village in Pontiac.
PONTIAC — The trial for a then-15-year-old Walled Lake resident charged with murder in the June 4 stabbing death of a West Bloomfield teenager is scheduled to begin Monday. Johnathan Rickman, 17, was slain after a quarrel at a friend's house in West Bloomfield. The defendant, whom Patch has not named because of his age, remains at Children's Village in Pontiac. He has turned 16 since the stabbing. "We're looking forward to presenting our case to the jury," Southfield-based defense attorney Rowland Short said via text message. "Obviously, these families have experienced tremendous hardship as a result of these unforeseeable events." Witness testimony was last heard during the summer when a 15-year-old Walled Central High School student …
42.65302
-83.3279
1200 N Telegraph Rd, Pontiac, MI
Oakland County Circuit Court
/articles/brief-trial-for-teen-accused-of-murder-begins
/locations/5943374
Thursday, October 20, 2011
The defendant, accused of stabbing a West Bloomfield teenager last summer, remains at Children's Village in Pontiac.
PONTIAC — The trial for a 15-year-old Walled Lake resident charged with murder in the June 4 stabbing death of a West Bloomfield teenager has been moved to Dec. 5. Johnathan Rickman, 17, was slain after a quarrel at a friend's house in West Bloomfield. Defense attorney Rowland Short explained that the trial, scheduled to begin Wednesday in front of Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Wendy Potts, was adjourned in order to complete discovery of all available evidence. The defendant, whom Patch has not named because of his age, remains at Children's Village in Pontiac. "(Dec. 5) is a firm trial date, and I don't expect it to change," Short said via text message Thursday. "We're looking forward to presenting our case to the jury. Obviously, …
42.65302
-83.3279
1200 N Telegraph Rd, Pontiac, MI
Oakland County Circuit Court
/articles/brief-trial-for-teen-accused-of-murder-delayed
/locations/5639982
Friday, June 17, 2011
A surveillance video of the stabbing of Johnathan Rickman, 17, of West Bloomfield, was shown in open court Friday.
PONTIAC – Parents were not home and tempers flared right before the fight which led to the stabbing death of a West Bloomfield teen, another teen witness testified in Oakland Circuit Court on Friday. The testimony, along with showing of video footage from that night, came during the continuation of the preliminary hearing for a 15-year-old who has been charged with open murder in the stabbing death June 4 of Johnathan Rickman, 17. The 15-year-old defendant, a Walled Lake Central High School student, appeared in court Friday in front of Family Court Judge Cheryl Matthews, who will decide whether the teen will be bound over for trial. The defendant is facing "designated charges," which means that if convicted, the teen's sentencing – as an…
42.530561
-83.410098
7300 Rafford Ln, West Bloomfield, MI
/articles/west-bloomfield-stabbing-scene-witness-video-paint-picture-moments-before-teen-was-knifed
/locations/4780281
42.65302
-83.3279
1200 N Telegraph Rd, Pontiac, MI
Oakland County Circuit Court
/articles/west-bloomfield-stabbing-scene-witness-video-paint-picture-moments-before-teen-was-knifed
/locations/4780282
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
A 17-year-old testified in a preliminary exam that a quarrel preceded the deadly encounter outside a West Bloomfield home.
A classmate of the 15-year-old Walled Lake Central High School student accused of murder and assault said he saw the quarrel between his friend and Johnathan Rickman, a junior at Walled Lake Northern High School. Rickman died June 4 as the result of a single stab wound to the stomach in West Bloomfield. Patch has not identified the 15-year-old student because the court has not yet determined whether he will be tried as an adult or juvenile. Rickman's mother, Amy O'Brien, wearing a white T-shirt bearing her son’s name and clutching a stuffed bear, quietly sobbed and put her head down as she heard the witness testify. The 17-year-old witness testified that the defendant chased Rickman outside of the house and to the victim’s car, but the …
42.65302
-83.3279
1200 N Telegraph Rd, Pontiac, MI
Oakland County Circuit Court
/articles/classmate-of-slain-west-bloomfield-teen-testifies-at-exam-of-15-year-old-accused-of-murder
/locations/4606977
David Martzolff
5:50 pm on Friday, January 13, 2012
Buck, I completely disagree. As I said before, murder or the death of a human being is as final as it gets. There HAS to be another way. No one has to be there to know that killing another human being is the ultimate price to pay. All humans have gotten picked on sometime in their lives but killing a human WAS NEVER the answer. I WILL and HAVE made a judgement call because this is NOT self … more ›