People of Michigan v. Terence Lamont Johnson

CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 12, 2016
Docket326201
StatusUnpublished

This text of People of Michigan v. Terence Lamont Johnson (People of Michigan v. Terence Lamont Johnson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People of Michigan v. Terence Lamont Johnson, (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

STATE OF MICHIGAN

COURT OF APPEALS

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, UNPUBLISHED July 12, 2016 Plaintiff-Appellee,

v No. 326201 Wayne Circuit Court TERENCE LAMONT JOHNSON, LC No. 14-007193-FH

Defendant-Appellant.

Before: JANSEN, P.J., and FORT HOOD and BOONSTRA, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Defendant appeals by right his convictions, following a jury trial, of possession with intent to deliver cocaine, MCL 333.7401(2)(a)(iv) (less than 50 grams), possession with intent to deliver marijuana, MCL 333.7401(2)(d)(iii) (less than five kilograms), felon in possession of a firearm, MCL 750.224f, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, MCL 750.227b (felony-firearm), and carrying a concealed weapon, MCL 750.227. The trial court sentenced defendant as a fourth-offense habitual offender, MCL 769.12, to 2 to 10 years’ imprisonment for the possession with intent to deliver cocaine conviction, 1 to 10 years’ imprisonment for the possession with intent to deliver marijuana conviction, 2 to 10 years’ imprisonment for the felon in possession of a firearm conviction, 2 years’ imprisonment for the felony-firearm conviction, and 2 to 10 years’ imprisonment for the carrying a concealed weapon conviction, with 34 days of credit for time served. We affirm.

I. PERTINENT FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Detroit Police officers responded to a complaint of narcotics activity at 13826 Gallagher in Detroit, Michigan on August 6, 2014. As officers approached the house, defendant leaped out of a window and fell to the ground. A concealed, loaded handgun was found on defendant’s person, as well as a baggie containing three packets of cocaine, five packets and two bags of marijuana, and $1,224 in small denominations. Defendant did not possess a license to carry a concealed pistol.

-1- At trial, one of the police officers testified that the house was empty of furniture and appliances and that no other drugs or drug paraphernalia were found inside the house. Defendant testified that he was at the house that day to purchase a “Bridge” card1 from a woman who lived in the house. He denied possessing any firearms or narcotics and denied selling drugs. He testified that he had planned to use the money in his possession to pay for repairs to his car. He further testified that he used a wireless headset to call his friend, Jamar Johnson, while he was being detained.

Johnson testified that he received a call from defendant on August 6, 2014, during which he heard multiple voices in the background. Defense counsel attempted to introduce testimony from Johnson and possibly another witness (not identified in the record) about statements they overheard on the telephone call. However, the prosecution objected to the proposed testimony as inadmissible hearsay. Defense counsel responded that the evidence was to be offered as a present sense impression. The trial court ruled that neither Johnson nor any other witnesses who heard the telephone conversation would be allowed to testify to what they heard, except to say there was a commotion or more than one voice.

Defense counsel submitted photographs of the home taken a week before the trial that showed furniture in the living room and a table in the kitchen.

The jury convicted defendant as described above. This appeal followed.

II. EXCLUSION OF HEARSAY EVIDENCE

Defendant first argues that the trial court erred in excluding the testimony of Johnson and any other witnesses concerning statements heard on the call between Johnson and defendant. We disagree.

We review a trial court’s decision to admit or deny evidence for an abuse of discretion. People v Orr, 275 Mich App 587, 588; 739 NW2d 385 (2007). “A trial court abuses its discretion when it chooses an outcome that is outside the range of reasonable and principled outcomes.” Id. at 588-589. We review de novo preliminary questions of law, such as the interpretation of a pertinent rule of evidence. People v Bynum, 496 Mich 610, 623; 852 NW2d 570 (2014).

Defendant sought to introduce the testimony of Johnson, and possibly another identified witness, regarding statements they heard in the background while on the telephone with defendant during the incident at the house. Defendant does not argue that the proposed testimony was not hearsay, i.e., a statement, other than the one made by the declarant while testifying at a hearing or trial, offered in evidence to prove the truth of the matter asserted. MRE 801(c). Hearsay is inadmissible unless permitted under a specific exception. People v Gursky, 486 Mich 596, 606; 786 NW2d 579 (2010). Defendant instead argues that the proposed testimony was admissible under the “present sense impression” exception to the hearsay rule.

1 A card providing food assistance and/or cash benefits.

-2- Under MRE 803(1), a hearsay statement is admissible if it describes or explains “an event or condition made while the declarant was perceiving the event or condition, or immediately thereafter.” Three conditions must be met for the admission of hearsay evidence as a present sense impression: “(1) the statement must provide an explanation or description of the perceived event, (2) the declarant must personally perceive the event, and (3) the explanation or description must be ‘substantially contemporaneous’ with the event.” People v Hendrickson, 459 Mich 229, 236; 586 NW2d 906 (1998), quoting United States v Mitchell, 145 F3d 572, 576 (CA 3, 1998).

At trial, defense counsel asserted that the proposed testimony was offered to show that the witnesses “heard other people in the background” because defendant “maintained that he was not arrested by himself.” In this regard, the trial court properly permitted defendant to introduce testimony that the witnesses heard a commotion or more than one voice. But defense counsel did not specifically identify statements that he sought introduce. Defendant therefore did not demonstrate to the trial court that the present sense impression exception applied to the proposed testimony.

Nevertheless, defendant argues that all statements the witnesses allegedly heard on the telephone should have been admitted as the present sense impressions of persons in the Gallagher house at the time of the raid. Again, the trial court allowed the witnesses to testify that they heard multiple voices on the phone. Without specific identification of the proposed testimony, including who made the statements, we cannot determine whether the statements themselves provided an explanation or description of the perceived event so as to qualify them as present sense impressions. See Hendrickson, 459 Mich at 236; People v Chelmicki, 305 Mich App 58, 62-63, 850 NW2d 612 (2014). Because defendant offered no such specifics regarding the proposed statements, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying their admission. Orr, 275 Mich App at 588.

III. PROSECUTORIAL ERROR2

Defendant also argues that he was denied a fair trial by the prosecution’s improper questioning concerning defendant’s other crimes, assertion that defendant commits federal offenses, and introduction of facts that were not in evidence. We disagree.

Where issues of prosecutorial error are preserved, we review them de novo to determine whether the defendant was denied a fair and impartial trial. People v Thomas, 260 Mich App 450, 453; 678 NW2d 631 (2004). Defendant failed to object to most of the prosecution’s allegedly erroneous questions and statements; therefore, we review the unpreserved issues of

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People of Michigan v. Terence Lamont Johnson, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-of-michigan-v-terence-lamont-johnson-michctapp-2016.