Adrian, MI – An Adrian man who recently pleaded guilty to manslaughter and a felony firearm charge in the murder of Christopher Dickerson was sentenced in Lenawee County Circuit Court late last week.
33-year-old Andrew Cecil appeared in Judge Michael Olsaver’s courtroom with his attorney, Special Public Defender, George Lyons. The People were represented by Lenawee County Prosecutor Jacqueline V. Wyse and Assistant Prosecutor Douglas Hartung.
Lyons argued that Cecil should get credit for time served when he is sentenced, telling the court that his client has been incarcerated for 783 days. Andrew Cecil did not physically kill Dickerson, but Hartung said that “it was Andrew Cecil who lit the fuse that resulted in a chain reaction whereby three bullets exploded into Chris Dickerson’s brain.”
Lyons, Wyse, and Hartung made final comments before sentencing. Lyons said that there is nothing he can offer to fix a broken heart, and offered thoughts and prayers to the Dickerson family. He said that Cecil takes responsibility for the role he played in Dickerson’s death.
Cecil also gave a brief statement before sentencing. He apologized to Tracy Dickerson, Chris’s mother. He said that he doesn’t know what it’s like to lose a son, and that he’s sorry and takes responsibility. Cecil said that he is trying to move forward with his life. He said that he knows the court will be fair and just.
Tracey gave a victim impact statement, something that she had done in past sentencings for other people involved in the murder of her son. She thanked the people who helped bring justice for her son. She thanked Judge Olsaver for doing his job. She said that she is mentally exhausted, and that this case has consumed her life.
Dickerson said that a regret she has is that she’s neglected her other sons and grandchildren. She is looking forward to restarting her life. She wanted Cecil to know that she wants him to know that even though she misses her son, she’s moving on with her life.
Wyse said that when Cecil was sentenced on another case, for stabbing Chris Dickerson, he knew Chris was dead when he apologized to his mother. She reminded the court that he was offered a plea deal in the stabbing case, and Dickerson was not going to testify. Wyse said that there should be no credit for time served.
Assistant Prosecutor Doug Hartung said that this was a long road to get here. He reiterated that Chris Dickerson foreshadowed his death when he spoke to his mother about who stabbed him. Chris said quote, “Mom, they’ll kill me.” Hartung told the court that this murder was unnecessary…and that Cecil lit the fuse. Hartung also said, “This is the stupidest murder that I can think of that has occurred in Lenawee County over my career.”
Judge Michael Olsaver said that it is significant that the act of killing Chris Dickerson was an attempt to subvert the justice system. He said that that system is designed to find that truth, and that Chris’ murder was an attempt to hide the truth. Olsaver said that we cannot right the wrong that has occurred.
He ultimately sentenced Andrew Cecil to two years in prison for the felony firearm charge, consecutive to the current sentence he is serving for stabbing Dickerson. Part of the plea agreement was for Cecil to serve 10 to 22.5 years in prison for the manslaughter charge. Olsaver decided to stack the sentences on top of each other…to run consecutively. He gave Cecil no credit for time served. Simply put, Cecil will serve at least 12 years in prison after he is finished serving his up-to-10-year prison sentence for stabbing Dickerson.
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