LANSING – A Wisconsin man is headed back to Baraga County Circuit Court for potential resentencing for an August 2013 armed robbery conviction.

The Michigan Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of Bernard Fish, of Shawano, Wisconsin. He was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison in October 2014 for two counts of armed robbery, as well as five to 20 years for two counts of extortion, five to 15 years for two counts of unlawful imprisonment and two to four years for impersonating a police officer.

However, the court did rule Fish can be remanded back to circuit court to determine if he should be resentenced.

Fish is eligible for resentencing due to a recent Supreme Court decision that changed the state’s sentencing guidelines to advisory-only. Under that ruling, the trial court can order resentencing if it determines that advisory-only guidelines would have resulted in a different sentence.

That Supreme Court ruling also found that Fish had established a threshold for “plain error” sufficient to send the case back to Baraga County.

In sentencing, Fish was scored 15 points on Offense Variable 1 for pointing a gun belonging to one of the victims, Steven Heiser, at a victim. However, even Fish’s possession of a firearm was not required for any of his convictions. The points scored for that offense moved Fish into a higher sentencing range than he would have otherwise been.

“The trial court’s sentence was not an upward departure,” the Court of Appeals ruling said. “Accordingly, Fish is entitled to a remand to the trial court to determine whether the constitutional error caused him prejudice.”

Fish was convicted of, along with his cousin Donovan Waupoose, robbing a house in Watton that had formerly housed a grow operation. Fish and Waupoose posed as U.S. marshals and told two men who planned to grow medical marijuana at the house, Al Jackson and Steven Heiser, they were raiding the house. After threatening Heiser and Jackson with a handgun found at the house, Fish made Heiser contact his father by phone; Fish then demanded $5,000 for each of the hostages. He later marched them to a field behind the house at gunpoint and before leaving the scene.

Fish asked for his conviction to be overturned for several reasons, including what he contended were insufficient evidence and acts such as admitting testimony given at the preliminary hearing by Heiser, who could not be located for the trial. The Court of Appeals found the trial court had acted appropriately.

No hearing has been set on a possible Fish resentencing.