The case of Efran Paredes is headed back for a resentencing.
Efran Paredes was a 15-year-old Lakeshore High School student on March 8, 1989 when he took part in an armed robbery at Roger’s Vineland supermarket in St. Joseph. Store manager Rick Tezlaff was shot and killed in the robbery, and Paredes was convicted of murder in his death.
Paredes was sentenced to life in prison without parole, although he says he is innocent.
Paredes has unsuccessfully appealed his sentence ever since, but a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling found mandatory life without parole sentences for juveniles unconstitutional.
Under that ruling, Paredes was resentenced by Judge Charles LaSata in 2021, but once again to life without parole.
However, the Michigan Appeals Court ruled last week the Berrien County Trial Court erred in that ruling and ordered Paredes to be resentenced again.
The higher court says the Berrien County court misapplied a previous ruling in the 2021 resentencing. It remanded the case back to the county court for another resentencing.
The state appeals court denied a request from Paredes for a new judge.
Michael Sepic, who prosecuted the Paredes case in 2021, tells us, “The Prosecutor’s Office believes Paredes should be sentenced to Life Without Parole under the new standards.”
No date has yet been set for the resentencing.
