EASTPOINTE, Mich. – A mandatory no-parole sentence has been overturned in the case of a young man who was convicted of abducting and killing a customer at a Detroit-area sandwich shop.
The Michigan appeals court says Ihab Masalmani is entitled to a new hearing because the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down mandatory no-parole sentences for murder committed by teenagers.
Masalmani was 17 when Matt Landry was abducted outside a Quiznos in Eastpointe in August 2009.
Landy, 21, had plans to attend a barbecue at his parents Chesterfield Township home later evening, but never showed up.
His body was found in the burned-out house on Maddelein Street in Detroit four days later.
--Matt Landry
Prosecutors said Masalmani and co-defendant Robert Taylor randomly carjacked Landry at Quiznos restaurant, drove him to the empty house, used his bank cards to withdraw money at a gas station and then executed him.
Masalmani was caught three days after Landry's disappearance during a botched carjacking at Walmart.
He was identified through surveillance video at the bank robbery and the gas station.
Masalmani was found guilty of 18 charges, including the first-degree murder of Landry.
When he returns to Macomb County court, Masalmani still could get the same life sentence. But he's entitled to a hearing where a judge can consider many factors, including Masalmani's troubled childhood.
Taylor likely will get a new hearing, too. He was 16 when Landry was killed.