‘Look at me when I’m talking to you’: Judge scolds teen during sentence for murder, armed robbery of roommate

Defendants Jacob Blain and Willow Reynolds appear for sentencing with Judge Mark Latchana

Left: Jacob Blain, background, and Willow Reynolds, foreground, in court on Feb. 24, 2025. Right: Judge Mark Latchana during sentencing (Law&Crime).

A Michigan judge made it very clear that he did not think a sentence reached following a plea agreement was enough to match the violent crime.

In Michigan’s Seventh Circuit Court, Judge Mark Latchana sharply asked for the attention of 19-year-old Jacob Blain as he sat alongside Willow Reynolds, 18, as they were both sentenced for the 2023 murder of their 44-year-old roommate, Adam Reynolds (no relation to the defendant). Both pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, armed robbery, and other charges.

During Monday’s sentencing, Latchana wanted it known that he believed that the agreed-upon sentence was “not appropriate, and not adequate for the violence that was inflicted, but it is the result of a negotiation.”

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