The man acquitted last month in the first-degree murder of Detroit synagogue leader Samantha Woll will not face a retrial, a Wayne County judge decided Friday.

Michael Jackson-Bolanos, 29, of Detroit, was sentenced to 18 months to 15 years in prison for lying to police officers in relation to Woll’s stabbing death inside her Lafayette Park townhouse last fall.

The jury in the case was deadlocked on counts of felony murder and home invasion, leading prosecutors to seek a retrial in the case. However, Jackson-Bolanos’ attorneys filed a motion last month to dismiss the remaining charges, citing a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court case which held that deadlocked charges cannot be retried in a case where a defendant is acquitted of similar charges, per the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The judge affirmed the motion and dismissed both charges.

Prosecutors in the case called the 6-3 Supreme Court ruling “bad law,” insisting to the court that they plan to appeal the decision. Van Houten acknowledged that she agreed with prosecutors about the United States v. Scott Yeager ruling, but said she was legally bound and couldn’t “ignore precedent that has been set by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

While lying to police officers typically carries a maximum five-year sentence in Michigan, Jackson-Bolanos faces up to 15 years in prison for his status as a habitual offender, minus 243 days for time already served.

“Lying to a police officer is not some victimless crime that is not important or isn’t serious,” said Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Dominic DeGrazia before the sentencing. “Lying to a police officer is how innocent people get convicted in crimes.”

The judge said she took Jackson-Bolanos’ previous criminal history into account before sentencing, as well as the amount of times the defendant lied throughout the course of the investigation and subsequent trial.

“If lying was an Olympic sport, you would get the gold medal sir,” Van Houten said to Jackson-Bolanos. “Because you told lie after lie after lie throughout those interviews, interrogations and even a few on the stand. And the number of lies does factor into this.”

Defense attorney Brian Brown called the claims by the judge that his client lied on the stand “unsubstantiated,” and promised to appeal the sentence.

The man accused of killing Detroit synagogue leader Samantha Woll could face a new trial on two charges.

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Last week, a jury found Detroit resident Michael Jackson-Bolanos not guilty of first-degree murder and guilty of lying to police officers in relation to Woll’s brutal murder last fall. However, the jury was unable to reach a consensus on the felony murder and home invasion charges.

A pre-trial hearing was held Thursday before Wayne County Circuit Judge Margaret Van Houten, as prosecutors consider whether to re-try Jackson-Bolanos for the two outstanding charges.

Defense attorneys for Jackson-Bolanos filed a motion to dismiss the charges on Wednesday, and prosecutors requested time to review the motion during Thursday’s hearing.

“Given the court’s schedule and given the nature of the motion, it does deserve some time to give a response and for the court to do its own research as well,” Van Houten said during the hearing on Thursday.

The judge asked prosecutors to file a response to the motion by Aug. 2, with a hearing on the motion to dismiss set for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 9. Jackson-Bolanos will be sentenced for the lying to police officers count that same day.

Defense attorney Brian Brown asked Van Houten if she’d be willing to entertain bond for his client, which she declined. As a habitual offender, Jackson-Bolanos faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison for the lying to police officers conviction.

Defense lawyer Purna Krishnamoorthy launched a petition drive on Monday asking prosecutors to drop the remaining charges against her client and let him out of jail, which has amassed nearly 600 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.

WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

Other headlines for Thursday, July 25, 2024:

• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill this week that will prohibit criminal defense attorneys from using a victims sexual orientation or gender identity as a defense argument.
• Detroit Public Schools Community District is creating the Social Studies Student Think Tank to collect opinions on how the school system can create more representative course materials.  
• Detroit Soccer Group BlackStar is partnering with Detroit City Football Club to host a variety of on-field events for players ages 7-18 this weekend.
• Ethiopian food pop-up Konjo Me is hosting an immersive Ethiopian cooking class at Café Prince in Core City on August 3. 

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.