Men who robbed marijuana caregiver could face deportation

ANN ARBOR, MI -- Two men sentenced in an Ypsilanti robbery case Wednesday, Sept. 20 could face deportation after they serve just under a year in prison.

Yusuf Marah Jama, 19, Bassam Hamoud-Yahya Obied, 18, and Mazeen Said Mustafa, 20, were each sentenced to 364 days in the Washtenaw County Jail and three years of probation under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act.

The trio pleaded guilty to robbing a marijuana caregiver in Ypsilanti in the 800 block of Green in Ypsilanti around 1:20 a.m. May 22.

Being sentenced one day short of a year in jail was part of a plea bargain.

Defense attorneys for Obied, a Yemen native, and Jama, a native of Somalia, said being sentenced to less than a full year could possibly help their immigration status.

Judge Archie Brown of Washtenaw Trial Court agreed to the sentencing agreement.

But they could still be ordered removed from the U.S. by an immigration judge after serving their sentences as a result of their felony convictions.

Mustafa doesn't face the same threat because he's a U.S. citizen, according to his attorney, David I. Goldstein.

Obied's attorney, Erika Julien, told Brown he is the only person from his family left in the U.S. His father, a doctor, is in Saudi Arabia, and his mother is in Canada, she said.

Julien pointed out that there's no longer a functioning airport in Obied's war-torn nation, and it's unknown what would happen if he were removed from the U.S.

Jama's attorney, John Elliot, said his client came to America at a young age from a similarly war-torn nation, Somalia.

The victim in the roberry, Samuel Miller, gave three separate impact statements during the sentencing hearing.

"This is the one who pulled the gun on me," Miller said, during Jama's sentencing.

Miller wondered why, if Jama was escaping war in his own country, he would resort to a gun crime.

"Why would he try to bring a war to my door?" he asked.

Miller said he's needed therapy after the robbery.

"I haven't been able to sleep since this has happened. I'm paranoid someone's going to come through the door," he said. "I had a gun put to me."

Miller's statements offered additional information, sometimes disputed, about the incident.

Miller said he knew Jama as a security guard at the apartment complex. The night of the robbery, he said he was responding to a buzzing doorbell and was being a "Good Samaritan" to go let someone in the building.

Defense attorneys, however, claimed the three men set up a deal to buy drugs from Miller prior to the robbery. Miller denied he had a bag of drugs and said the entire incident was on camera.

When pleading guilty, the three men said they drove to an apartment complex in that area with a plan to steal marijuana from the man, and admitted they had a firearm.

After the incident, Ypsilanti police said the 28-year-old caregiver, licensed by the state to grow and sell marijuana to patients, also had a concealed pistol license, and fired a gun at the would-be robbers, missing Obied and Jama when the two tried holding him up at gunpoint in the hallway of the apartment.

The gunshot prompted the two men to flee, police said. Mustafa admitted he was the getaway driver.

A Washtenaw County Sheriff's deputy saw the men traveling in their car at a high rate of speed and pulled them over. The victim identified Jama, Mustafa and Obied after they were taken into custody.

The three men were sentenced under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, which means their cases could eventually be expunged, though the case could still have consequences on their immigration statuses.

The three were initially charged with armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of marijuana.

They pleaded guilty to unarmed robbery, conspiracy to commit unarmed robbery and the concealed weapon count in exchange for the sentencing agreement.

Only Jama spoke when given a chance by the judge.

He tearfully apologized to his family and Miller.

"I'm sorry to put the victim through such a dangerous crime," he said.

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