Judge to rule if 12-year-old-killer-turned-adult will serve life or be set free

DETROIT, MI -- He was a 12-year-old child in 2009 when Detroit police say he shot and killed 24-year-old Trisha Babcock of Davison during a botched robbery.

DeMarco Harris, now days from his 21st birthday, spent the better part of a decade locked in juvenile facilities after being convicted of felony murder, assault with intent to commit robbery and felony firearm use in 2009.

Had he been sentenced as a juvenile, Harris would likely be released with his sentenced served -- Michigan's juvenile system doesn't detain anyone over the age of 21 -- but Harris received blended sentence.

The nature of the sentence guidelines, when also considering a supreme court decision regarding life sentences for minor offenders, leaves some guesswork as to what the judge may do.

An adult conviction for felony murder results in a mandatory life sentence without the chance of parole in Michigan, but because of Harris's age at the time of the crime, that mandatory sentence may not apply.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in Miller v. Alabama, ruled that it's cruel and unusual punishment to sentence someone who committed a crime as a minor to automatic life in prison.

Since he's exhausted his maximum time in juvenile custody, a judge must now determine if he'll receive an adult sentence. It appears Harris could be facing anything between freedom and life behind bars.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Virgil C. Smith, who presides in the juvenile and family court, is expected to hear arguments related to the sentencing at at 9 a.m. Friday. It's unclear if Smith will make a ruling at that time.

Police say Harris tried to rob Babcock just after midnight on Aug. 1, 2009. She had come to Detroit seeking work as a dancer and was sitting in the driver's seat of a parked car when the boy pointed his gun at her and a struggle ensued, police said.

He shot her once in the chest, police said, and she later died at a hospital.