Lansing man faces life in prison after murder conviction for dispensary shooting

A Lansing man faces mandatory life in prison after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a man outside a medical marijuana dispensary. 

Although Derabian Carthell, 25, was not the person who pulled the trigger during the November 2016 armed robbery, the intent was there, Assistant Ingham County Prosecutor Attorney Kahla Crino told jurors during her closing argument. 

Besides the murder charge, the jury found Carthell guilty of armed robbery and three weapons charges after a six-day trial. The murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

Carthell and Marcell Davis, 22, meticulously planned to ambush 27-year-old Matthew Smoke and another man as they sat in a white Jeep outside the dispensary on South Washington Avenue, waiting to make a drug deal, Crino said. 

Both men brought guns, and both intended to use them, she said.

Davis opened the rear driver's side door, and Carthell circled around the vehicle. Carthell opened Smoke's door and told him, "You know what time it is." 

As Carthell pulled Smoke out of the car and held him at gunpoint, Davis fired a single bullet into Smoke's back. 

"It was Derabian who put him in that vulnerable position," Crino said. "If Marcell had not shot Matthew, Derabian was ready to do it." 

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Lansing man sentenced for murder outside dispensary

Neither was surprised that Smoke ended up dead, and they continued with the robbery as though they had known someone might be killed, Crino said. 

They didn't attempt to help Smoke and didn't seem bothered that Smoke was dying on the ground, Crino said. 

Carthell told Davis to search Townsend and rifled through Smoke's pockets. He took his money, gun and drugs. Davis took a cell phone and wallet from Townsend. 

Carthell's attorney, Duane Silverthorne, pointed to the lack of physical evidence tying Carthell to the scene. Much of it was linked to Davis. 

Carthell's DNA wasn't underneath Smoke's nails, Silverthorne said. There was no blood on his shoes, no fingerprints on the car door. Police did not find the gun or drugs Carthell allegedly took from Smoke, he added. 

There was no admission of guilt from Carthell, and other involved parties did not implicate him. 

"These things count," Silverthorne said. "There isn't sufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Carthell was even there that day." 

However, Crino said there was plenty tying Carthell to the scene. An eyewitness and surveillance video placed him at the dispensary, she said.

Davis was sentenced to life in prison without parole in April for his role in the murder and armed robbery.

Contact Kara Berg at 517-377-1113 or kberg@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @karaberg95.