Ironwood man gets 4 months jail in larceny case

BESSEMER — An Ironwood man received the potential for a second chance in Gogebic County Circuit Court when he was sentenced on a larceny charge Thursday.

Ira Asher Wilson-Johnson, 19, pleaded guilty to the five-year felony, larceny from a motor vehicle, as part of a plea deal he made with the Gogebic County prosecutor’s office in March.

On Thursday, Wilson-Johnson was sentenced to four months in jail for the larceny charge, however Circuit Judge Michael Pope agreed to grant him Holmes Youthful Trainee Act designation.

The designation is applicable to those between 17 and 21 with no prior felony convictions, and allows those who successfully complete the requirements without getting into further legal trouble to have the felony not appear on their records.

Pope had struggled with what sentence to deliver, saying that while Wilson-Johnson was young, several criminal incidents when he was a juvenile indicated he may be heading toward a life of crime.

“You’re a young man. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you and it certainly doesn’t make sense to be convicted of a felony at such a young age,” Pope said. “What makes it difficult is when I look at your history, it tells me maybe you’re growing into a criminal.”

“... And the reason I’m struggling with (the sentence) is, I’m trying to understand the kind of young man you want to be. Do you want to be a criminal, or do you want to be a good father and someone who is beneficial to society?”

Wilson-Johnson’s attorney, Anna Talaska, argued the status was crucial to ensuring he became a productive member of society.

“It is critical to his future that he be allowed to begin his adult life without a felony,” Talaska said. “He’s only 19 years of age; to label him as a felon at this point in his life would make everything from here on out all that more difficult.”

She argued he has taken a number of steps since his arrest to turn his life around, including obtaining a high school diploma, successfully completing a treatment program, obtaining employment “off and on” since his arrest and becoming a full-time father.

She said the other co-defendants in the case were placed on Holmes Youthful Trainee Act statuses, with two months in jail.

Pope imposed the four-month jail sentence as part of the requirements for the status, along with a number of other conditions similar to those that go along with probation.

Wilson-Johnson will be under the status for two years.

Two misdemeanors, malicious destruction of property and a minor in possession of alcohol, were dropped as part of the plea deal.

The charges stem from a November 2015 incident, where Wilson-Johnson and his co-defendants were caught attempting to break into cars in Ironwood.

Wilson-Johnson was also ordered to pay approximately $1,198 in fines and court costs.