In a hearing Wednesday, Mohammad Abuhaltam received a prison sentence of 31 to 80 years with parole for the May 21 killing of James May, Sr. in Three Rivers. 45th Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman issued the sentence after working with prosecuting and defense attorneys and hearing testimony from the defendant and the victim’s family.
Previously, in a hearing on August 14, Abuhaltam accepted a deal from Acting St. Joseph County Prosecutor Joshua Robare in which he pled guilty to second degree murder in exchange for having other charges dropped. Those dropped charges included fleeing and alluding in the third degree, carrying a concealed weapon, and several unrelated motor vehicle infractions. By pleading guilty, Abuhaltam forfeited his automatic right to an appeal, and would have to seek court permission if he wished to pursue an appeal.
In determining sentences, courts use a system of rating and scoring based on a variety of factors such as the nature of the offense, whether it was premeditated or intentional, and the perpetrator’s prior criminal record. A judge can also weigh other factors, such as testimony from the victims and mitigating factors in the defendant’s life.
After conversation with Robare and defense attorney David Marvin, who represented Abuhaltam, Stutesman assigned 145 points to the second-degree murder charge at level C. The final sentence was based on that score as well as the testimony that followed on Wednesday.
The prosecution submitted a report on the circumstances of the case prior to sentencing. In his response to that report, Marvin said Abuhaltam has been undergoing recent personal difficulty after the recent death of his father. The turmoil, Marvin said, led the defendant to take up with a criminally influenced group of people he found “intriguing.”
That, in turn, led him to the other, unrelated charges in the months leading up to the murder. Marvin urged the court to “realize he doesn’t have a criminal history” prior to that time. He said that “should factor into sentencing.”
Marvin also disputed a statement in the report saying Abuhaltam was ‘without emotion’ on the case. “In my interactions with him, he has shown emotion from the start,” Marvin said. Instead, he said, the defendant’s apparent emotionlessness was a result of his fear in the case and a desire to answer questions in court in a “blunt and to-the point” manner.
In his Wednesday testimony, part of which was tearful, Abuhaltam said, “on May 21 of this year, I woke up on my birthday with the intention to make it a joyful day, spending time with family and friends. One of the tasks that I had that day was to go see Mr. May about the motorcycle that I purchased from him. And, I went over there, regretfully, under the under the influence of a drug that I regret ever taking in my life.”
Abuhaltam said, “I let the emotion and anger get the best of me, and I attacked him with the weapon multiple times, and I regret every second of it.” He said his regret was due not only to his own family’s difficulty with the crime, but for the anguish he caused the victim’s family. “I wish every day, every day, to take it back. But, instead, they’re in a complete state of grievance, and I apologize.”
Speaking for the victim’s family, Sheila May said she was opposed to the second-degree murder charge. “I know in my heart that this was something that would have been premeditated,” she said.
In Abuhaltam’s August testimony, he said he was on Xanax, went to the victim’s house early in the morning, where the two got into an argument over a motorcycle the victim sold him which Abuhaltam alleged did not work. “In the heat of the moment,” Abuhaltam said he used a knife belonging to the victim to stab him repeatedly.
May said, when she spoke to Abuhaltam the morning of the crime, he said he’d arrived that morning, “but come to find out, he’d been here all night,” as well as the prior night. She said Abuhaltam was a regular visitor to the house.
In addition, that morning, May said she never heard an argument between Abuhaltam and Mr. May. She said she never knew the victim “to have a quiet argument,” but that “if he had an argument, you knew about it.” Instead, she said, she remained asleep, as did the dogs in the house. “That lets me know he was asleep” when the crime happened, she said.
May said she recalled Mr. May and Abuhaltam arguing about the motorcycle on the previous day. After their argument, she said, the two said they loved each other, hugged, and “everything was cool.”
Speaking of Abuhaltam, May said, “I know he’s got a momma, and I know he lost his father. I know he’s hurting.” She also said Mr. May had his own vices, including drug use and a criminal record. However, she said, her family was also hurting, and Mr. May “didn’t deserve this either.”
May asked the court to picture the degree and severity of Mr. May’s wounds. “We couldn’t have had an open casket if we wanted to,” she said. “I hope (Abuhaltam’s) mother never has to go through that.”
Due to Mr. Abuhaltam’s guilty plea, a trial did not take place, and so there was no cross-examination about the circumstances of the murder. However, Stutesman said he agreed with May’s suggestion that Abuhaltam’s recollection of the crime might be incorrect.
“The fact that he did what he did, the fact that no one heard it, the fact that he then covered his body up, and before he did that, he says he went through his pockets and removed whatever money he could find” supported the idea that “there is more than meets the eye,” Stutesman said.
By accepting the guilty plea, Stutesman said Abuhaltam avoided a sentence of life without parole, but also avoided having the victim’s family “sit through the anguish” of detailed testimony, photographs, and other graphic depictions of the the crime. “I remember every murder case we’ve had in 15 years that I’ve had to try, and they never leave me or my staff’s minds,” Stutesman said. “We live with these daily, and it’s a fact that keeps me up at night.”
Regarding a sentence, Stutesman said, “If I give him life in prison, he’ll be eligible for parole in 15 years. And I don’t know what the statute is going to be in 15 years from now, I don’t know what the judge who is going to be sitting here will do in 15 years from now, because it won’t be me. So, I’m going to go for the term of years, and I’m going to go for the maximum under the term of years.”
The victim’s family is also eligible for $1,063 in restitution for funeral costs, as well as counseling and other state services, and Stutesman ordered Abuhaltam responsible for some other costs and fees, due immediately.
Although Abuhaltam avoids a life without parole sentence, Stutesman said, “that doesn’t mean that he won’t spend the rest of his life in the Department of Corrections.” With a sentence of 31 to 80 years, the earliest Abuhaltam would be “eligible for parole is when he is 56, and he can be held until he’s over 100, if he were to live that long. The earliest he could get out is in 31 years,” Stutesman said.
“That doesn’t make you feel any better, and it won’t make the family feel any better, and it won’t make anybody feel any better,” Stutesman said. “It wouldn’t make you feel any better if he had life without parole,” nor will the sentence help Abuhaltam or his mother feel any better, Stutesman said. “He is going to think about this every day for the rest of his life.”
Dave Vago is a writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.
