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Jonathan Hoffman Dead: Sandra Layne Shot Grandson Eight Times, Police Say

By COREY WILLIAMS 05/21/12 11:06 PM ET AP

Sandra Layne
Sandra Layne allegedly shot her grandson, 17-year-old Jonathan Hoffman, eight times.

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Jonathan Hoffman frantically told a 911 dispatcher he had been shot in the chest by his grandmother and was going to die, a police detective testified Monday.

By the time officers arrived at the family's upscale condo in a Detroit suburb, at least four more shots from a .40-caliber handgun had been pumped into the 17-year-old high school senior.

A West Bloomfield Township detective told a judge during Monday's arraignment for 74-year-old Sandra Layne that eight entry and exit wounds were found in Hoffman's body after the Friday afternoon shooting.

Layne has been charged with open murder and held without bond. She stood mute in court when the charge was read, and a not guilty plea was entered on her behalf. An open murder charge allows a jury to decide on whether a first- or second-degree charge applies after hearing evidence.

Hoffman had been attending an alternative high school in nearby Farmington and living with his maternal grandparents so he could complete his senior year while his divorced parents settled in Arizona, according to his father, Michael Hoffman of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Layne's attorneys have said there were problems at the condo, and Layne was afraid of her grandson. One of her attorneys, Mitchell Ribitwer, told reporters Monday that drugs and drug paraphernalia apparently belonging to the teen were found at the condo after Hoffman was killed.

Michael Hoffman said that regardless of his son's behavior, the teen was unarmed and didn't deserve to be shot to death.

Detective Brad Boulet testified about Hoffman's 911 call and said when officers arrived at the condo, Layne was inside, behind a screened door.

"She put the gun on the floor after being ordered so by officers," Boulet said. "She exclaimed she had just murdered her grandson."

Wearing an orange jumpsuit in court, Layne smiled and nodded to her husband and other family members.

Ribitwer described her to the judge as a retired teacher who has lived in the West Bloomfield area for 30 years. His requests for a reasonable bond and electronic tether monitor for Layne were denied. A pre-examination conference for Layne was set for Thursday morning.

Prosecutors had no comment after the hearing. Layne's husband and other relatives attended the hearing but also didn't comment.

Police had responded in March to a domestic disturbance at Layne's home.

"I spoke to the officer who responded, and he indicated this young man was totally out of control in the street," defense attorney Ribitwer told reporters Monday. "He was derogatory to his grandmother. He was yelling and shouting and almost got into it with the police."

Jonathan Hoffman's funeral is set for 11 a.m. Tuesday.

FOLLOW CRIME

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Jonathan Hoffman frantically told a 911 dispatcher he had been shot in the chest by his grandmother and was going to die, a police detective testified Monday. By the tim...
BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Jonathan Hoffman frantically told a 911 dispatcher he had been shot in the chest by his grandmother and was going to die, a police detective testified Monday. By the tim...
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05:12 AM on 06/10/2012
some of these comments are unreal , no your right we dont know the whole story , but you guys are giving grandma justification and their is none ,a child is dead from the hands of his grandma.thats enough
04:21 AM on 06/10/2012
i dont care if this kid was the worst of the worst , there is no excuse for killing him,end of story ,no debate can justify what she did ,shes afraid then shoot him in the leg to stop him but 8xs? no grandma wanted him dead and thats sad ,thats the grandma
04:21 AM on 05/25/2012
While this is a TERRIBLE situation, we don't have all the facts yet, so I can't personally decide how I feel about this. We don't know what was happening in this family: If Jonathon posed a threat to his grandmother, why his parents moved without him, etc. Yes, the father points out, he was 'unarmed' - but that's not to say he wasn't high on drugs, or threatening to kill grandma. Was he 6' 3'', or 5'? Had police had been to the home before? Does grandma have a record? We don't know enough about the case.

I try hard not to say what I would do in someone else's situation, as we can almost NEVER know for certain. The decisions we make are based on our own individual beliefs, fears, life experiences ... you get the idea. So while it's easy to say that the grandmother should have done 'this' or 'that,' or what we would have done instead. It's unfair. You can't possibly know unless you're her, and in the the exact moment she was in.

I don't condone murder, but I do believe we have a right to defend ourselves if absolutely necessary. I also hope that if I ever ended up in some horrific situation such as this (and I pray I never do), people would wait for the facts to come out before condemning me.

That being said, I feel terrible for the family, and will will be keeping them in my prayers.
04:21 PM on 05/24/2012
Wow before you pass judgement, those that are posting negative comments here really need to get more information before making such an ignorant statements. I know this family personally and both Michael and Jennifer Hoffman, Jonathan's parents were extremely involved parents. There was no indication of a problem between Sandra and Jonathan. The only reason he was staying in Michigan was to finish his senior year, while his parents were providing for the care of the daighter who suffered a brain tumor last year and was being treated in Arizona. I am not excusing the use or marijuana by Jonathan, but marijuana does not make one aggressive. If you also read she shot Jonathan mulitple times. If she was in such fear of Jon, a kid that is 5'5" and 120lbs, why didn't she indicate that to the family and why did she shoot him 3 minutes after the 911 call was made. This was premeditated murder. This is by no means self defense.
07:30 PM on 05/24/2012
People are absolutely unbelievable, IrishAzGirl. I don't know if they're stupid, misinformed, or just mean. Likely an amalgam of the above.

I'm not sure that she'll be charged with Murder 1. Maybe you are privy to more information, but it looks as if there is a possible competency issue here. That makes it all the more sad. She's probably so confused and now may realize what she's done.

But stand by. Because what they'll do to Jonathan's character in the coming weeks will be disingenuous and miserable.
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minerva117
The dog ate my micro bio.
11:35 PM on 05/24/2012
Aw, it hurts my heart to say that you are probably correct about the character assassination to come. I see undiagnosed and untreated mental illness in this scenario. The US has an abyssmal record in our treatment of the mentally ill. It seems like these situations are ending in murder more and more..........sad.
NorquistNemesis
I'll vote Republican when I'm in the top 0.000001%
03:36 AM on 07/03/2012
Thank you for the personal info. Tragic and heartbreaking all the way around.
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02:18 PM on 05/24/2012
Michael the Father said his son was unarmed and didn't deserve what he got, Okay, this is my problem with what the Father said,(1) the kid was in an alternative school, (2) the kid was living with grandma and some excuse from the father why the kid was living with grandma, (3) police had been called in march for the out-of-control kid, (4) grandma was scared of the grandson, (5) drugs paraphernalia found in the home., (6), the kid was 17 and grandma 74..how in cow crap could she ever defend herself if she didn't have a gun?.,,,wake up Daddy! No wonder the grandma had a big smile on her face..she got rid of the problem and most likely for society as well. Great job Grandma!
06:53 PM on 05/24/2012
Troll.
07:22 PM on 05/24/2012
And the character assassination of a dead adolescent begins!

You list 6 reasons that have convinced you that this shooting was deserved and justified. Notably, the most negative information solely coming from this woman's defense attorney.

The boy was in an alternative school. Fine, it apparently was sufficiently credentialed for him to be accepted at college this same week.

Multiple family members have stated that he stayed behind to finish his senior year of high school. A very understandable desire, and there is not a single statement that indicates there was any other reason to have not joined his parents in Az..

The comment about him being 'out of control'? That comes from her defense attorney. From what I've read thus far, the call in March documented no such thing and was noted to be solely a verbal altercation.

Grandma said she was scared. When? After she shot the kid. Not to her daughter, no to any friends, not to the boys family members. Just once to the police and now of course, to her defense attorney.

We know nothing of any drug paraphernalia. His arrest for marijuana is less than relevant. If a history of ever smoking marijuana justified shooting someone, this board would be mighty lonesome.

I suspect as well that you simply are simply an angry person, with some other issues, considering your previous posts.

Wake up! The woman has dementia! It was NOT justified and is only tragic for both parties.
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04:35 AM on 05/25/2012
Hmmm... I guess you know alot more than I do..I only read the article. You must either know the people, the attorney, or did some intensive investigation. Personally I could care less...just commenting like everyone else and having an opinion. Is that okay? Can I state my opinion? Is that acceptable? Or should I just wait until someone as bright as you who knows everything about all things to make magnificiant comments that could blow your hair back.
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sanfran55
05:38 AM on 05/25/2012
DrB3- Fav'd and fanned. You make some great points. Especially that the old woman's defense attorney/s are being quoted in the article, sounding like fact 'the boy was out of control' and it's just their spin for their client.

It is really sad that this kid is going to have a character assasination by the old woman's defense team - gleefully applauded by the kid haters - while not being around to defend himself. Who will speak for the victim?
01:27 PM on 05/24/2012
i know of someone 19 high on something.... that picked his 2 year old sister up and slammed her into the glass dining table ! right in front of his mom while the dad was calling 911 !
01:17 PM on 05/24/2012
some old people are crazy
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peakresources999
Conspiracy FACT, no theory about it...
05:52 PM on 05/24/2012
Some old people like shiny things.....
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BillyRadd
12:22 AM on 05/26/2012
Seems as if some old people will shoot if pushed to the limit. Wonder where she got the .40 Ca. That's a pretty healthy firearm for a grandma.
01:11 PM on 05/24/2012
old people can't raise out-of-control teens !
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peakresources999
Conspiracy FACT, no theory about it...
11:27 AM on 05/24/2012
The problem here is that the effects of the actual drug use on his brain are being overlooked and downplayed, especially by some of the younger posters on here.

The mentality among high school and college age people here is that he was smoking nothing more than a form of "weed". WRONG. These damn herbal and incense drugs they have out now are seriously dangerous. They cause serious hallucinations and huge spikes and elevations in emotions. They can turn normally productive, level headed, helpful, courteous, loving people into violent monsters.

If you're doing any of this s**t, and you're calking it up as you only smoke innocent "weed", well then you might want to look at this story and see just how much chaos these kinds of drugs can cause.

This grandson was not helping himself get better, he was continuing his use, and was continuing to bring chaos into his grandmother's household, and was probably getting worse.

Its HORRIBLE that he died this way, so young. But don't you see? What's why drugs are so terrible! They turn otherwise good, young productive people into monsters! I'm not happy that he died this way, it's awful, it's a tragedy! God knows whats potential he may have had.

But can't you also see how the grandmother could have been so scared for her life that she felt she had to defend herself?
01:16 PM on 05/24/2012
While I understand your concern with drug abuse, what evidence has been presented that he was either under the influence, presently out of control or even using synthetic cannabinoids?

The young man was already down, shot in the chest pleading with 911 for help and minutes later, she shoots him again. Then minutes after that, as the police approached, she pumped a few MORE rounds into him. That's NOT self-defense.

If you read the story from different sources, and see her arraignment, she looks as if there are cognitive issues. She's smiling at her poor family waiting in the courtroom, as if they were attending her high school graduation.

Her poor husband looked so devastated, and frail; I can't imagine what his mother is experiencing.
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peakresources999
Conspiracy FACT, no theory about it...
05:44 PM on 05/24/2012
The only reason I brought the information about K2, is because in common usage alot of kids on the street and in general usage will consider and label incense and K2 type drugs as just "ordinary marijuana". They label it all as just being harmless herb to justify smoking it.

I'm not saying with 100% certainty that is what happened here. But I am saying that it's becoming a common thing for kids to smoke these scented herbs, incenses and other things, and then just blow it off as smoking ordinary weed. And that is what has led to alot of domestic chaos and violence, and led to alot of tragic injuries and deaths.

That's all I'm saying.
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peakresources999
Conspiracy FACT, no theory about it...
11:00 AM on 05/24/2012
"• K2 is labeled as an herbal blend, marketed for home incense, but it is being used for much different purposes and could have potentially dangerous effects.
• Although K2 is sometimes marketed as synthetic marijuana, the effects can be 10 times more intense than those from marijuana. The dried herbs come in 3-gram packages of various flavors, including "Blonde," "Pink," "Citron" and "Summit.""

God knows the kind of chaos this young man was causing in that household, and what kind of threats he was levelling against his grandmother and against the police.
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peakresources999
Conspiracy FACT, no theory about it...
10:58 AM on 05/24/2012
http://www.k2drugfacts.com/

Folks, please visit this website. It will give you the full picture of what this grandmother was dealing with ok?

This wasn't about overreacting to some casual pot smoking.
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peakresources999
Conspiracy FACT, no theory about it...
10:51 AM on 05/24/2012
Just a quick quote from one of the websites about drug awareness...

"K2 is NOT marijuana. It is a dangerous hallucinogenic substance that is much more potent than marijuana, and can cause the opposite effects."

I just want to throw that out there....please look up and research K2 and Incense drugs. This kid was causing alot more chaos in that household than just not taking out the garbage! He was dangerous.

Grandma didn't shoot him because he was innocently smoking weed in his room while playing Xbox. This was much, much more serious.
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yukidongo1
09:53 AM on 05/24/2012
Get slapped upside the head by a child/teenager on drugs, and you won't have to think long about where this grandmother was coming from. If he was out of control on the streets, he was even more raging and volatile at home. Been there, done that. I am blessed at this time to have a clean, sober adult daughter with a lovely child and husband. At the time, though, I wouldn't have laid odds on her seeing 20. I believe she felt threatened. None of us were there, we have no idea. But, I can say I have experienced similar, and maybe she did what she had to do. I am sure he will be played as a troubled youth whose parents' situation made him turn to drugs... It was a choice. A bad one, but a choice.
08:09 AM on 05/24/2012
Tapes from his 911 call were relesed and he was on the floor crying when she shot him a few more times. The 911 operator asked why she shot him and he told her that she was mad he had a black girlfriend. He had 6 exit wounds so he was shot at close range. 2 bullets were left in his body. He had just been admitted to East Michigan University. So Sad.
01:39 AM on 05/24/2012
Eight. That's more than seven, right?