People v. Gilleylen

188 N.W.2d 131, 31 Mich. App. 416, 1971 Mich. App. LEXIS 2100
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 22, 1971
DocketDocket 8048, 8049
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 188 N.W.2d 131 (People v. Gilleylen) 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. Gilleylen, 188 N.W.2d 131, 31 Mich. App. 416, 1971 Mich. App. LEXIS 2100 (Mich. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinion

Fitzgerald, P. J.

Defendants, in separate jury trials, were convicted of the crimes of carrying concealed weapons without a license 1 and robbery armed. 2 Sentences of 2 to 5 years and 10 to 20 years were imposed. Defendants appeal both convictions.

On November 8, 1968, Roosevelt Saffore, a resident of the City of Grand Rapids, called the police to report two men who were sitting in a vehicle bearing Ohio license plates and acting in a suspicious manner. Two police officers were dispatched to investigate. After stopping their police car, they approached the vehicle on foot to make routine *419 inquiries. The officers testified they heard the door on the passenger side of the automobile open and close and heard something hit the ground with a dull thud. With the aid of a flashlight, one of the officers discovered a .38 caliber revolver on the grass between gutter and sidewalk within a foot or so of the passenger door. The gun was loaded, dry, and rust-free.

Defendants Gilleylen and Johnson were ordered out of the car and Gilleylen was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. With the alleged permission of Johnson, the officers then searched the interior of the automobile.

Upon request, defendant Johnson handed the trunk key to one of the officers. A loaded sawed-off 16-gauge shotgun was found in the vehicle trunk. Defendant Johnson was then arrested for carrying a concealed weapon in an automobile. A timely motion was made to suppress the introduction of the shotgun and ammunition which had been taken from the vehicle as exhibits. Defendants were subsequently found guilty of the crime with which they were charged.

The second offense and trial stems from an armed robbery on October 10,1968, when four men entered the Fairview Pharmacy in Walker, Michigan. Defendants, while in custody on the concealed weapons charge, were placed in a series of jail line-ups and identified as participants by the Fairview Pharmacy robbery witnesses. Following identification, the defendants were charged with armed robbery and the subsequent jury trial resulted in conviction.

On appeal, defendants question the sufficiency of the evidence to convict and allege several procedural and trial errors.

*420 Case No. 8048

Defendants contend that the officers, on the basis of the complaint, lacked probable cause to arrest.

The officers were lawfully present to make a routine inquiry based upon a citizen’s complaint. It is a policeman’s job and duty to investigate such matters. The officers had no reason to arrest anyone on the basis of the complaint alone. The arrest was based upon facts and circumstances obvious and discernable to the officers’ senses of hearing and sight. The facts available to the officers at the moment of the arrest of defendant Grilleylen would warrant the belief that an offense had been committed. Beck v. Ohio (1964), 379 US 89 (85 S Ct 223, 13 L Ed 2d 142); People v. Sansoni (1968), 10 Mich App 558; People v. Wolfe (1967), 5 Mich App 543. The arrest was a result of practical considerations of everyday life on which reasonable and prudent men, not legal technicians would act. Brinegar v. United States (1949), 338 US 160 (69 S Ct 1302, 93 L Ed 1879); People v. Harper (1962), 365 Mich 494; People v. Alexander (1970), 26 Mich App 321.

Looking at the facts available to the policeman in this case, the officer had reasonable cause to believe that there was a concealed weapon violation and probable cause to make the arrest.

Defendant’s motion to suppress the shotgun and ammunition found in the vehicle trunk on the ground of unlawful search and seizure was denied.

There was sufficient and probable cause to arrest defendant Gilleylen. The arrest was lawful. The officers, therefore, had the right and duty to search the interior of the automobile incident to this arrest. People v. Harris (1942), 300 Mich 463, 465. People v. Ritholz (1960), 359 Mich 539, 551; People v. Otis Dumas (1970), 25 Mich App 535, 538.

*421 At the hearing on the motion to suppress, testimony indicates that defendant Johnson voluntarily produced his trunk key from his pocket and handed it to the officer following the officer’s request to look into the trunk. One may waive the issuance of a search warrant and by consent permit the search of his premises. People v. Cope (1969), 18 Mich App 14.

The trial court’s finding that Johnson had consented to the search and voluntarily without police duress or coercion handed the trunk key to the officer, is not, on the record, clearly erroneous. GOB 1963, 517.1; People v. Castelli (1967), 7 Mich App 1, 4.

Although one of the reasons the trial judge admitted the seized evidence was on a false impression of prevailing law (Const 1963, art I, § 11) instead of the rule in Mapp v. Ohio (1961), 367 US 643 (81 S Ct 1684, 6 L Ed 2d 1081), no reversal or remand is necessary because in this case the arrests were lawful and the search of the trunk was both with consent and reasonable.

Defendants claim that the prosecutor must prove that the defendants did not have a license to carry a concealed weapon in some other state. There is no such requirement. The burden of establishing any exception, excuse, proviso, or exemption contained in any such act is upon the defendant. MCLA §776.20 (Stat Ann 1970 Cum Supp § 28.1274[1]); People v. Jiminez (1970), 27 Mich App 633.

Defendant Gilleylen claims the court erred in permitting the prosecutor to question him concerning a previous arrest which did not result in a conviction.

This trial was commenced on March 10, 1969. At this time, established procedural guidelines allowed such cross-examination. People v. Hoffman (1965), 1 Mich App 557; People v. Foley (1941), 299 Mich *422 358. People v. Brocato (1969), 17 Mich App 277, held that no reference could be made to arrests not resulting in convictions. But Brocato was decided on May 5,1969.

In People v. Ruppuhn (1970), 25 Mich App 62, this Court held:

“Hoffman was the law before Brocato and was relied on by the trial court. Brocato affects trial procedure and will apply only to those trials which commenced after the date of this Court’s decision in the case.”

No objection was made to this question and answer.

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Bluebook (online)
188 N.W.2d 131, 31 Mich. App. 416, 1971 Mich. App. LEXIS 2100, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-gilleylen-michctapp-1971.