18-Year-Old Sentenced For Armed Robbery In Street Artist Killing Case

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A young Detroit man convicted of armed robbery in connection with the slaying of a 23-year-old French street artist has been sentenced to 16 to 40 years in prison.

The Wayne County prosecutor's office says 18-year-old Dionte Travis appeared Wednesday in circuit court.

A hung jury led to a mistrial last month on murder and gun charges. Travis' retrial on those charges is scheduled for Nov. 30.

The story made national headlines when Bilal Berreni's body was found July 29, 2013, outside the dilapidated Frederick Douglass Homes — more commonly knows at the Brewster projects.

No identification or passport was found on the Paris resident, who'd been shot in the face, and and it look state police months to identify him through fingerprints. According to family members, the young artist — who painted large pieces in black and white on buildings — occasionally lived as a squatter in vacant structures.

The long vacant housing project has since been demolished.

Co-defendants Drequone Rich and Jasin Curtis have both pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Berreni's death. Another suspect, who was 13 at the time of the killing, faces trial later this year. His name has not been released due to his age.

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