Alan Lee Morse

Alan Morse shot and killed Alan Nelson last March

The man who broke into a Sidney Township man’s home last spring and then shot the 80-year-old man in his bed, was sentenced this week.

Alan Nelson

The crime occurred on March 29, 2015, when Alan Lee Morse, 49, broke into the home of Alan Dale Nelson, 80, on Nevins Lake, about four miles west of Stanton. Evidence at the scene showed that his home and several other homes nearby had been broken into. The victim had been shot in the head and chest, apparently with a .22 caliber rifle stolen from another home that night.

Morse, of Stanton, was arrested in July, and admitted to Michigan State Police that he committed the crime, but a judge later threw out the confession, saying it was obtained illegally. He later pled guilty as part of a plea agreement.

Morse was originally charged with felony murder, several home invasion counts and weapons charges. Those charges were dropped in exchange for a plea to second degree murder.

Last Thursday, Januay 28, Morse was sentenced to between 26 and 75 years in prison, and ordered to pay $24,782 in restitution.

Morse was previously convicted on several home invasion and breaking and entering charges, and had been discharged from prison in August 2014, just seven months before the murder.