ITHACA, MI (WTVB) – A former Branch County man was sentenced to prison yesterday after the savage beating of his mother in March of this year. 53-year old Richard Coin of Alma was ordered to serve a minimum of six years and a maximum of 12 years by a judge in Gratiot County Circuit Court. In April,
Coin plead no contest to vulnerable adult abuse-first degree, a 15-year felony. In exchange for the plea, a pair of lesser weapon felonies were dismissed.
Coin in the 1990’s was a resident of Quincy where he was employed by Star of the West Milling and was active in community affairs. He was the caretaker for his 76-year old mother in Alma, where they lived together in her home.
Authorities said the day before Coin was arrested, 911 received a call and his mother was discovered by medics to be unresponsive with serious injuries. She survived the assault after being hospitalized in Lansing.
Richard Coin’s sister Kelly Coin read a statement in court Monday, saying she was satisfied with the plea agreement because it kept her mother from having to testify in the event of a trial. She added that the long term emotional abuse suffered by her mother was also a significant factor in her ordeal.
