Michigan high court overturns Flint gang murder conviction

LANSING (AP) - The Michigan Supreme Court has overturned the first-degree murder conviction of a man linked to a Flint gang because the prosecution didn't tell the jury about FBI payments to a key witness. A Genesee County circuit court jury convicted Feronda Smith in 2011 in the 2005 shooting of drug dealer Larry Pass at Pass's home. The Flint Journal says the now-40-year-old Smith was among about 30 people arrested in 2007 in a federal and local crackdown on the Pierson Hood gang. Smith got the mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. The court issued a split decision last Thursday overturning Smith's conviction. It says jurors should have heard that prosecution witness Mark Yancy received payment for helping the FBI investigate the gang and Pass's killing. Published: Mon, Aug 03, 2015