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GROSSE POINTE WOODS/DETROIT — A Grosse Pointe Woods man who was accused of fatally shooting his younger brother last year has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
Originally charged with open murder and felony firearm, during a final conference hearing April 8 in front of 3rd Circuit Court Judge Kevin Cox in Detroit, Edmond Doheny agreed to a plea and sentencing agreement for involuntary manslaughter and felony firearm.
Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor James Kehoe read the agreement — based on a Cobbs evaluation — in court: “In exchange for a no-contest plea to a reduced count of homicide-manslaughter involuntary, which is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections, as well as count two as charged, weapons felony firearm, which carries a mandatory penalty of two years in the Michigan Department of Corrections, this court agreed to a Cobbs evaluation as follows: The mandatory two years for count two in the Michigan Department of Corrections, which would be served concurrently with three years’ probation for the reduced count one.”
“Mr. Doheny, you should know that your lawyer submitted a very comprehensive Cobbs memorandum to the court, which I did review,” Cox said. “It was very well written. It was very thorough. And it was very helpful in advising the court about many issues in this case.”
A Cobbs evaluation is a Michigan plea bargain in a criminal case that includes participation from the judge.
“The court does accept Mr. Doheny’s plea today, finding that the plea has been made knowingly and voluntarily,” Cox said.
Robert Ihrie, Doheny’s defense attorney, asked the court to lift the 10 p.m. curfew on his client between now and his sentencing, noting that Doheny is a plumber who works for a company that’s short-handed and routinely gets emergency calls for service late at night. Kehoe said he had no objection to this. Cox said the court would sign an order removing any curfew restrictions from Doheny’s bond conditions.
Doheny, 29, was accused of killing his brother, Dennis Doheny, 19, also of Grosse Pointe Woods, at a home in the 1800 block of Brys Drive at around 12:43 a.m. Oct. 6, 2023, by firing a single shot that hit the younger Doheny in the head. Edmond Doheny has maintained from the beginning that this was an accident, not an intentional shooting.
Reading from a Grosse Pointe Woods police report about the case, Kehoe said in court that police wrote that Edmond Doheny told one officer he was just trying to show his brother the gun. The report also quoted Doheny as having made “random, unsolicited statements about the incident, one of which was, ‘Please forgive me — he was such a good boy.’”
“This just verifies once again that this was an unanticipated, unintended tragic accident,” Ihrie said after the hearing. “Under the circumstances, this is a plea bargain that made both legal and factual sense.”
Ihrie said his client has “100% support” from his family and friends. Doheny’s mother and at least some of his siblings have been at all his court appearances.
Doheny’s punishment will be finalized during a sentencing hearing at 12:30 p.m. June 27 in front of Cox.
“Obviously, he continues to be devastated at the death of his brother, yet understands there is a penalty to pay, which he willingly accepts,” Ihrie said of his client.
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