PEOPLE OF MI V ERIC THOMAS MASTERS
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
February 27, 2001
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 219891
Macomb Circuit Court
LC No. 95-003266-FC
ERIC THOMAS MASTERS,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Meter, P.J., and Neff and O’Connell, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Defendant appeals as of right from a nine-to-twenty-year sentence imposed for a pleabased conviction of solicitation of murder, MCL 750.157b(2); MSA 28.354(2)(2). We affirm.
This appeal is being decided without oral argument pursuant to MCR 7.214(E).
Defendant first contends that he is entitled to resentencing because the prosecutor
breached the plea agreement. “Where a defendant’s plea of guilty is induced by the prosecutor’s
promise relating to sentencing, the terms of that agreement must be fulfilled.” People v Swirles,
206 Mich App 416, 418-419; 522 NW2d 665 (1994). “Where the agreement is subsequently
breached, a reviewing court has discretion to choose between vacating the plea or ordering
specific performance” of the bargain. People v Nixten, 183 Mich App 95, 97; 454 NW2d 160
(1990).
The prosecutor did not violate the plea agreement by making unfavorable remarks
regarding defendant’s sentence. Because the parties had not agreed to any specific sentence, the
prosecutor was free to advise the court of any circumstances the court should consider in passing
sentence, MCR 6.425(D)(2)(c), as long as he did not “inject material reservations” about the plea
agreement. United States v Canada, 960 F2d 263, 270 (CA 1, 1992). It is only if the prosecutor
has agreed to take a certain position or make a specific recommendation at sentencing that the
scope of his comments to the court are limited. See People v Arriaga, 199 Mich App 166, 168169; 501 NW2d 200 (1993); Nixten, supra at 98-99.
The plea agreement required the prosecutor and representatives from other law
enforcement agencies to disclose the full extent of defendant’s cooperation only if requested to
do so by the court or defendant and there is nothing in the record to indicate that either the court
or defendant made such a request. Therefore, defendant has failed to show that the prosecutor
-1-
violated that aspect of the plea agreement. In any event, our review of the record convinces us
that defendant received the benefit of the bargain regarding the comments of representatives of
other agencies. The letters submitted by those persons after the fact indicated that defendant
cooperated with them by testifying against a coconspirator in murder and arson cases. The
prosecutor presented the same information to the court at sentencing and the court stated that it
considered defendant’s cooperation when it imposed sentence. Accordingly, we find no basis for
resentencing.
Defendant next contends that his sentence was disproportionate. A sentence must be
proportionate to the seriousness of the circumstances surrounding the offense and the offender.
People v Milbourn, 435 Mich 630, 636; 461 NW2d 1 (1990). Although defendant had no prior
criminal record, cooperated extensively with the authorities, and the presentence report
recommended probation, defendant plotted the murder of another man, actively and persistently
solicited two people to carry out the murder, and initially lied to the police about his involvement
in the crime. In addition, the prosecutor dismissed the conspiracy charge, which carried a
mandatory life sentence. MCL 750.157a(a); MSA 28.354(1)(a); MCL 750.316(1)(a); MSA
28.548(1)(a). We find that the sentence did not violate the principle of proportionality and thus
the trial court did not abuse its discretion. People v St John, 230 Mich App 644, 649; 585 NW2d
849 (1998); People v Castillo, 230 Mich App 442, 447; 584 NW2d 606 (1998).
We agree with defendant’s contention that the judgment of sentence must be corrected to
reflect the correct statutory citation for solicitation of murder, which is MCL 750.157b(2); MSA
28.354(2)(2).
Affirmed and remanded for correction of the judgment of sentence. We do not retain
jurisdiction.
/s/ Patrick M. Meter
/s/ Janet T. Neff
/s/ Peter D. O’Connell
-2-
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.