Crime & Safety
Prisoner Convicted of Dearborn Man's Death Will Go Before Michigan Supreme Court
Lincoln Park resident Matthew Makowski was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1988 stabbing death of Pietro Puma.
DEARBORN — A Lincoln Park man serving a life sentence for the 1988 fatal stabbing of a coworker in Dearborn may be released from prison pending a decision by the Michigan Supreme Court.
The court announced on Friday that it would hear arguments from Matthew Makowski of Lincoln Park. In December 2010, former Gov. Jennifer Granholm commuted the life sentence for Makowski before leaving office, but then rescinded the decision after receiving objections from relatives of Pietro “Pete” Puma, 19, of Dearborn, who was killed during a botched robbery at a fitness center.
Makowski was convicted of first-degree murder and is currently serving a mandatory no-parole sentence. He acknowledges he arranged a robbery, but claims that he wasn't present when it occurred and didn't know it would lead to Puma's death.
No date has been announced for Makowski's hearing in front of Michigan's highest court.
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