People v. Ho, 585 N.W.2d 357 (Mich. Ct. App. 1998)

Cases | People v. Ho, 585 N.W.2d 357 (Mich. Ct. App. 1998) | 2018

The defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The trial court ordered the defendant to pay $11,864.22 in restitution. On appeal, the defendant claimed that: (1) the trial court improperly imposed restitution as compensation to the victim’s family for reward money offered; and (2) the trial court failed to consider whether the defendant had the ability to pay. The appellate court held that: (1) because the defendant failed to show that money was actually to compensate the victim’s family for any reward money paid and there was nothing in the record to show that the victim’s family provided the reward money, the court declined to set aside the restitution award; and (2) the defendant waived any argument about his ability to pay restitution when he failed to object at the time of sentencing. The court was not required to make findings on the record related to the defendant’s ability to pay restitution unless the defendant objected.