BY DON SCHELSKE
Clarkston News Staff Writer
With people on both sides of the case shedding tears on Monday, a 35-year-old Orion Township man was sentenced to 24-36 years in prison for raping an Independence Township woman last year.
The sentence, issued by Oakland County Circuit Judge John J. McDonald, came despite Gregory H. Combs? continued claims that the May 28, 2004 encounter with the then-19-year-old woman at the DTE Energy Music Theater was consensual.
‘Things aren’t actually the way they seem,? said Combs, who was convicted by a jury on two counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct on March 24. ‘I never meant to hurt anybody. I never punched her in the face.?
‘That’s what you want me to believe?? McDonald said. ‘This is your chance to come clean.?
Combs stuck to his story, evoking a hint of disgust in McDonald’s voice.
‘I don’t believe one word you’re saying,? McDonald said. ‘You don’t deserve any breaks at all.?
Before McDonald issued the sentence, Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Townsend and defense attorney Howard Arnkoff argued details of a probation department pre-sentencing report, which recommended a sentence of only about four to eight years.
Townsend successfully appealed to have a ‘habitual offender? category attached to Combs because of a March 2000 conviction of attempted extortion from the state of Ohio. Additional ‘points? were attached to the report because of what the prosecution called ‘excessive brutality? in the case.
‘She didn’t know if she would ever see her family again,? Townsend argued. ?[Combs] threatened to kill her.?
The amended report recommended a sentence of about 11-23 years. Then came victim impact statements.
The young woman was unable to be in court on Monday because of school commitments, so McDonald allowed her mother to read a prepared statement on the victim’s behalf.
‘I don’t think a day will go by when I can be alone and feel the security I once did,? the victim wrote. ‘I don’t think a night will go by when I don’t have to replay the horrible memories over and over in my sleep.?
Several in the courtroom audience dabbed at tears as the mother read.
‘This is a sick person, and for him to sit on the stand and deny those horrible things makes me convinced that he feels no sympathy and would do this again,? the victim wrote.
The victim’s father also spoke to the court. He asked the judge ‘to show the same mercy [for Combs] as he did? for his daughter, implying that he would have taken justice into his own hands if Combs had been released on bond prior to trial.
‘Thank God that didn’t happen, because I would probably be standing here and you wouldn’t be,? the father said directly to Combs.
Tears of anger came from a member of Combs? family outside the courtroom, who said, ‘I have to go home and tell his baby,? referring to his six-year-old child.
Arnkoff said after court that Combs would ‘absolutely? apply for an appeal, but Townsend downplayed that possibility.
‘Every defendant can file an appeal,? Townsend said, but only based on procedural errors in the trial. ‘There were no legal errors.?