By BOB OLIVER
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN — The jury trial for the Detroit man accused of shooting another man inside Benihana last year has been delayed until August.
The trial of Darrius Demarr Greene, 28, was scheduled to start last Wednesday but a postponement of the trial was requested by Greene’s attorney, Daniel Blank, and accepted by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge James Callahan April 18.
According to court documents Blank was recently retained by Greene as defense attorney, replacing Randall Upshaw, and requested more time to prepare his case.
A final conference for the trial is now scheduled for 9 a.m. June 5 before Callahan with the jury trial beginning Aug. 11.
Greene is charged with assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, carrying a concealed weapon, discharging a firearm in or at a building, assault with a dangerous weapon and felony firearm.
The charges have penalties ranging from up to life in prison for the charge of assault with intent to murder to up to four years in prison for the charges of discharging a firearm in or at a building and assault with a dangerous weapon.
Greene has also prior convictions and is considered a habitual offender, which would mean enhanced penalties if found guilty, and is labeled as a violent offender, which would mean a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years for a conviction on any of the charges.
The incident occurred in Benihana, 18601 Hubbard Drive, about 9 p.m. Nov. 12, when the police say Greene entered the restaurant and approached a patron.
The two men began to argue and physically fight inside the restaurant before Greene pulled out a weapon, shot the victim and fled.
The victim, a 43-year-old Ann Arbor resident, was shot in the abdomen and taken to a local hospital where he was initially listed in stable condition.
According to a press release issued by Dearborn police, the preliminary investigation indicated that the shooting was not a random act and that the men involved knew each other.
Greene turned himself in to Harper Woods police Dec. 9 and was transported to the Dearborn Police Department.
Greene previously was convicted in 2008 for receiving and concealing stolen property and third degree fleeing a police officer.
(Bob Oliver can be reached at [email protected].)