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Second Detroit man gets prison sentence in Warren gun battle
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Dale Hatch, one of two Detroit men who pleaded guilty to participating in a gunbattle near downtown Warren on Nov. 11, 2012, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison.
Hatch, 27, pleaded guilty in February before Judge W. Wyatt McKay of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Marco Dukes, 32, of Warren; and attempted aggravated murder of Dukes’ cousin, Larry Smith, 29, who was hit by gunfire but survived.
At his sentencing Wednesday, Hatch apologized to the “city of Warren and to the family of Marco Dukes for being part of the situation.
“I guess if I had a chance, I wish I could have stopped it, even though I didn’t really do or cause it, but I could have stopped it, and I’m sorry I didn’t.”
His attorney, John B. Juhasz, told Judge McKay the men involved didn’t intend to get into an altercation.
“It started out with a couple of guys going over to get some of their belongings,” Juhasz said. “These fellows all knew each other. A little bit of a verbal quarrel started. That verbal quarrel turned into a violent one, so it’s something Dale didn’t intend to be involved in that day, but he got involved in it.”
Juhasz said he believes the 10-year prison sentence reflects the unintentional nature of what happened and the fact that Hatch would have testified if the other Detroit man charged in the crime, Derrick Peete, 23, would have gone to trial.
Prosecutors said Hatch fired only one shot before his gun jammed. Hatch fled on foot and was captured a short distance away after running through the parking lot of the St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church on High Street, where witnesses attending a Sunday-morning service helped police by pointing in the direction Hatch had gone.
Prosecutors said Hatch, Peete and Dukes fired shots behind an apartment house on Elm Road not far from the church and several popular restaurants.
Police said 30 to 40 shots were fired, most of them from an assault rifle Peete was using.
On March 20, Peete received a life prison sentence with parole eligibility after 15 years for the murder of Dukes and attempted murder of Smith.