People v. Brantley

823 N.W.2d 290, 296 Mich. App. 546
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 17, 2012
DocketDocket No. 298488
StatusPublished
Cited by95 cases

This text of 823 N.W.2d 290 (People v. Brantley) 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 v. Brantley, 823 N.W.2d 290, 296 Mich. App. 546 (Mich. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinions

Jansen, J.

Defendant appeals by right his jury-trial convictions of first-degree criminal sexual conduct [550]*550(CSC-I), MCL 750.520b(l)(e) (armed with a weapon), and larceny from the person, MCL 750.357. He was sentenced to serve concurrent prison terms of 12 to 40 years for the CSC-I conviction and 4 to 10 years for the larceny-from-the-person conviction. He was also ordered to submit to lifetime electronic monitoring following his release from prison. We affirm defendant’s convictions, but vacate his sentences in part and remand for resentencing consistent with this opinion.

i

Defendant first argues that the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed the crimes. We disagree.

Claims of insufficient evidence in a criminal case are reviewed de novo, with the evidence viewed in a light most favorable to the prosecution. People v Ericksen, 288 Mich App 192, 195-196; 793 NW2d 120 (2010). We must determine whether a rational trier of fact could have found that all the essential elements of the offenses were proved beyond a reasonable doubt. People v Railer, 288 Mich App 213, 217; 792 NW2d 776 (2010). Circumstantial evidence and reasonable inferences arising therefrom may be used to prove the elements of a crime. People v Bennett, 290 Mich App 465, 472; 802 NW2d 627 (2010). “[T]his Court must not interfere with the jury’s role as the sole judge of the facts.” People v Meshell, 265 Mich App 616, 619; 696 NW2d 754 (2005). It is the role of the jury to “ ‘determine questions of fact and assess the credibility of witnesses.’ ” People v Cameron, 291 Mich App 599, 616; 806 NW2d 371 (2011), quoting People v Lemmon, 456 Mich 625, 637; 576 NW2d 129 (1998).

Defendant was convicted under MCL 750.520b(l)(e), which provides that “[a] person is guilty of criminal [551]*551sexual conduct in the first degree if he or she engages in sexual penetration with another person” and “is armed with a weapon or any article used or fashioned in a manner to lead the victim to reasonably believe it to be a weapon.” “Sexual penetration” is defined, in relevant part, as “any . .. intrusion, however slight, of any part of a person’s body or of any object into the genital or anal openings of another person’s body. . . .” MCL 750.520a(r); see also People v Szalma, 487 Mich 708, 712 n 5; 790 NW2d 662 (2010). “[T]he complainant’s testimony can, by itself, be sufficient to support a conviction” of criminal sexual conduct. Id. at 724; see also MCL 750.520h.

Defendant was also convicted under MCL 750.357, which provides in pertinent part that “[a]ny person who shall commit the offense of larceny by stealing from the person of another shall be guilty of a felony ....” As this Court observed in People v Perkins, 262 Mich App 267, 271-272; 686 NW2d 237 (2004), to prove the elements of larceny from a person, the prosecution must show that the defendant (1) took someone else’s property without consent, (2) moved the property, (3) intended to steal or permanently deprive the owner of the property, and (4) took the property from the person or from the person’s immediate area of control or immediate presence.

We first conclude that the prosecution presented sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant committed CSC-I under MCL 750.520b(l)(e). The victim testified that defendant put his forearm on her throat with enough pressure that she could not breathe, that defendant produced a black folding knife and put the edge of the knife on her throat, that defendant pulled her pants down around her knees, and that defendant flipped her over onto her [552]*552stomach and inserted his penis into her vagina from behind. The victim had a scratch on her neck that was consistent with her allegation that defendant held a knife to her neck. In addition, the victim identified defendant as her attacker, and defendant could not be excluded as a possible source of the semen that was collected. Lastly, defendant was arrested with a black folding knife in his possession. Taken as a whole, this evidence was sufficient to allow a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant engaged in sexual penetration with the victim while he was armed with a weapon. See MCL 750.520b(l)(e).

We also conclude that the prosecution presented sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant committed the offense of larceny from the person. The victim testified that defendant took her cell phone, money, and purse without her permission while they were in his car. Furthermore, the victim’s cousin testified that defendant had the victim’s cell phone after the assault, that defendant told the victim’s cousin not to call the cell phone again, and that defendant then used the cell phone to call the victim’s cousin back. Finally, the evidence indicated that the victim was missing her cell phone after the assault. This evidence was sufficient to enable a rational trier of fact to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant had committed all the essential elements of the offense of larceny from the person. See Perkins, 262 Mich App at 271-272.

ii

Defendant also argues that the jury’s verdicts were against the great weight of the evidence. Again, we disagree.

[553]*553We review unpreserved claims that the verdict was against the great weight of the evidence for plain error affecting the defendant’s substantial rights. People v Musser, 259 Mich App 215, 218; 673 NW2d 800 (2003). “ ‘[A] new trial based upon the weight of the evidence should be granted only where the evidence preponderates heavily against the verdict and a serious miscarriage of justice would otherwise result.’ ” Lemmon, 456 Mich at 642 (citation omitted). In general, conflicting testimony or questions concerning the credibility of the witnesses are not sufficient grounds for granting a new trial. Id. at 643.

The evidence presented at trial did not preponderate heavily against the jury’s CSC-I verdict. The victim testified regarding the sexual assault. She relayed consistent versions of the assault to her sister, the emergency room doctor, and the forensic nurse who examined her. The victim also identified defendant as her attacker. She had a scratch on her neck that was consistent with her allegation that defendant held a knife to her neck. When she spoke to her sister and the forensic nurse, she was shaken and upset. Although there was no acute injury to the victim’s vagina, the forensic nurse testified that this was not unusual for a victim of sexual assault. Moreover, defendant could not be excluded as a possible source of the semen. Defendant was arrested with a black folding knife that matched the weapon used during the assault. Furthermore, the facts that the victim could not judge how far defendant had parked his car from a school security guard and that the victim may have lied about a previous consensual encounter did not make her story so unreliable that a reasonable jury could not have believed it.

Similarly, the evidence presented at trial did not preponderate heavily against the jury’s larceny-from-the-person verdict. The victim testified that defendant took [554]*554her cell phone, money, and purse. This testimony was supported by evidence that the victim had to use a school security guard’s cell phone to call her sister.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People of Michigan v. Thomas Tyrone Carter
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2025
Maddox v. Tanner
E.D. Michigan, 2024
People of Michigan v. Dacoda Steven Brownfield
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2024
Whitson v. Naggy
E.D. Michigan, 2023
Louris v. MaCauley
E.D. Michigan, 2022
Almeraisi v. Winn
E.D. Michigan, 2020
Taylor v. Fenby
E.D. Michigan, 2020
People of Michigan v. Clarence Reed Jenkins Jr
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2019
People of Michigan v. Justin Dewayne Johnson
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2018
People of Michigan v. Jeffrey Alexander Hogan
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2017
People of Michigan v. Martell Washington
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2017
People of Michigan v. Dontreau Von Robinson
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2017
People of Michigan v. Justin Timothy Comer
Michigan Supreme Court, 2017
People of Michigan v. Terry Terrell Clark
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2017
People of Michigan v. Mark Joseph Maniaci
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2017
in Re Ajene Abayomi Morton
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2017
People of Michigan v. Marcus Carter Perkins
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2017
People of Michigan v. Roger Dale Felton
Michigan Court of Appeals, 2017

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
823 N.W.2d 290, 296 Mich. App. 546, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-brantley-michctapp-2012.