Second trial in gang-related murder case scheduled for July
ADRIAN — A second trial is scheduled for this summer for an Adrian man accused of conspiring to kill another man who was shot to death almost four years ago.
Andrew Erin Cecil is accused of conspiring to kill Christopher Dickerson of Weston in what law enforcement officials and witnesses have described as a gang-related murder. His co-defendant in the case, Count Tereso the Almighty Trevino, was found guilty in April 2023 in Lenawee County Circuit Court while the jury could not reach a verdict on Cecil and a mistrial was declared.
Cecil, 32, is charged with open murder, conspiracy to commit open murder, solicitation of open murder and gang membership felonies. Lenawee County Circuit Judge Michael R. Olsaver scheduled the new trial for July 16-31 during a pretrial hearing Wednesday.
Trevino, who charged his name from Terry Lynn Trevino several years ago, was convicted of the same charges that Cecil is being tried on. He is serving 45 to 85 years in prison on the open murder and conspiracy charges, 37.5 to 65 years on the solicitation charge, and 15 years to 26 years and 8 months on the gang membership felonies charge. He is imprisoned at Macomb Correctional Facility, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections.
The first trial ran for 12 days, including jury selection and deliberations. Testimony during the trial showed Trevino was considered the leader of Adrian’s Latin Counts, which was described by the Lenawee County Prosecutor’s Office as a violent street gang dealing in drug sales, break-ins, robberies and other crimes. Trevino was found guilty of being the man who orchestrated Dickerson’s death through conversations that took place inside the Lenawee County Jail.
Dickerson, 27, was shot to death Jan. 21, 2019, in a wooded area near Morenci. Witnesses have testified the shooting was retribution for Dickerson testifying against Cecil in a stabbing case and to prevent him from testifying at the trial. Cecil stabbed Dickerson in the back while they fought in an apartment in Adrian in May 2018. Richardson testified in the cases' preliminary examination in Lenawee County District Court. He was killed before the case went to trial in circuit court. A transcript of Dickerson’s testimony at the examination was allowed to be used at the trial, and Cecil was found guilty of stabbing Dickerson. He is serving 4 years and 9 months to 10 years in prison.
Cecil was a member of the Latin Counts, and Dickerson had been associated with the gang, according to testimony at the first trial. Other Counts members have testified during the case's proceedings that the punishment for testifying against a fellow Count is death.
Subscribe Now: For all the latest local developments, breaking news, and high school and college sports content.
The two men who have accused each other of shooting Dickerson, Austin Richardson and David Taylor, are jailed in relation to Dickerson’s murder and other crimes. Richardson has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is awaiting sentencing. Part of his plea deal was to testify truthfully in the other defendants' trials.
Olsaver also scheduled a pretrial hearing for Feb. 16. That is primarily to give Cecil and his attorney, George Lyons of Jackson, an opportunity to meet in person. Cecil is incarcerated at Gus Harrison Correctional Facility in Madison Township, according to Michigan Department of Corrections online records.
Cecil was present in the courtroom Wednesday. Lyons and Lenawee County Prosecutor Jackie Wyse appeared by video.
— Contact reporter David Panian at dpanian@lenconnect.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @lenaweepanian.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: New trial in Lenawee County gang-related murder case set for July
