State Of Washington v. Michael S. Olsen

449 P.3d 1089
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedOctober 8, 2019
Docket51531-8
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 449 P.3d 1089 (State Of Washington v. Michael S. Olsen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Of Washington v. Michael S. Olsen, 449 P.3d 1089 (Wash. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

Filed Washington State Court of Appeals Division Two

October 8, 2019

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

DIVISION II STATE OF WASHINGTON, No. 51531-8-II

Respondent,

v.

MICHAEL SHAWN OLSEN, PUBLISHED IN PART OPINION

Appellant.

CRUSER, J. — Michael Shawn Olsen appeals his conviction and sentence for first degree

unlawful possession of a firearm. In the published portion of this opinion, we expressly reject our

prior decision in State v. Pierce1 and hold that the jury was not required to find that the gun Olsen

possessed was operable for it to be considered a “firearm” under former RCW 9.41.010(9) (2015).

Because of this holding, we also reject Olsen’s argument that the evidence was insufficient to

support the conviction.

In the unpublished portion of this opinion, we further hold that (1) Olsen has waived the

prosecutorial misconduct claim because he fails to show that the alleged misconduct was so

flagrant and ill intentioned that an instruction could not have cured the resulting prejudice and (2)

the trial court did not err when it required Olsen to register as a felony firearm offender.

1 155 Wn. App. 701, 230 P.3d 237 (2010). No. 51531-8-II

Accordingly, we affirm Olson’s conviction and the trial court’s requirement that Olsen register as

a felony firearm offender.

FACTS

I. CHARGES AND PRETRIAL MATTERS

On June 15, 2017, Olsen, who had prior felony convictions, attempted to sell a gun at a

local gun shop. After rejecting the gun shop employee’s offer, Olsen left the shop with the gun.

The gun shop employee contacted the police to verify that the gun was not stolen.

After determining that Olsen was prohibited from possessing firearms, the police contacted

and arrested Olsen. The gun was never recovered. The State charged Olsen with first degree

unlawful possession of a firearm.

Before trial, while discussing jury instructions, the State alerted the trial court that the focus

of the case was going to be whether the gun “was in perfect, working order when the defendant

tried to sell it.” Verbatim Report of Proceedings (VRP) (Oct. 31, 2017) at 23. The State argued

that it had to prove that the unrecovered gun was only a “gun in-fact” and that it could be rendered

operational quickly and easily. Id. at 26. The trial court deferred ruling on how to instruct the jury

on this matter.

II. TRIAL

At trial, the State presented testimony from Steven Vetter, the gun shop employee to whom

Olsen had tried to sell the gun. Olsen’s sole witness was a firearms expert, Marty Hayes.

A. TESTIMONY

Vetter testified that he worked at the gun shop and was responsible for purchasing used

guns. Olsen came into the gun shop and attempted to sell a .22 caliber Ruger revolver that he had

2 No. 51531-8-II

been carrying in a shoulder holster for $250. Olsen did not say there was anything wrong with the

gun.

Olsen told Vetter that the gun was loaded. After unloading the gun, Vetter, who was very

familiar with this type of gun, visually inspected the gun “to make sure that all the parts were intact

in the firearm, that there was no visible missing components, springs, hammer, transfer bar, things

that could be removed.” Id. at 16. Concluding that the gun was in “[p]retty good” condition and

not observing any problems with the gun, Vetter offered Olsen $125. Id. at 14. Olsen rejected

this offer, reloaded and holstered the gun, and left.

In addition to testifying about his encounter with Olsen, Vetter testified that he had

extensive experience with guns, that he was trained to “tear guns down” and able to clean and fix

them, and that although he did not work as a gunsmith, he regularly worked on his own guns. Id.

at 7-8. Vetter said that he would not have considered purchasing the gun unless he was satisfied

that it was in working condition. Vetter also described his examination of the gun in detail, but he

stated that he did not test fire the gun because he did not have the ability to do so at the shop.

Hayes, president and director of the Firearms Academy of Seattle, testified on Olsen’s

behalf. He reviewed the video from the store, the police report and statements, and the photograph

of the gun that Olsen had attempted to sell. Hayes confirmed that the gun was a real gun rather

than a toy or replica and opined that test firing the gun was the only way to determine for sure

whether the gun would fire.

B. JURY INSTRUCTIONS

After the parties rested, they discussed the proposed jury instructions addressing the

definition of the term “firearm.” Olsen proposed a jury instruction stating that in order to find a

3 No. 51531-8-II

device to be a “firearm,” the jury needed to find that the “device” in question was “capable of

being fired either instantly or with reasonable effort and within a reasonable time.” Clerk’s Papers

(CP) at 43. He also proposed an instruction that required the jury to find that the State had

presented “sufficient evidence to find a firearm operable under this definition.”2 Id. Olsen

acknowledged, however, that he was unsure whether these proposed instructions should be given

because whether the firearm had to be operational was “muddy water.” VRP (Oct. 31, 2017) at

109.

The following day, the trial court announced that it had reviewed the case law regarding

whether the State had to prove that the firearm was operable and that this case law was unclear.

The trial court chose to give an instruction following WPIC 2.10,3 which stated, “A firearm is a

weapon or device from which a projectile may be fired by an explosive such as gunpowder.” CP

at 48.

C. CLOSING ARGUMENTS

In its closing argument, the State focused on whether it was required to prove that the gun

was operational. The State argued that the evidence established that the gun met the definition of

“firearm” in the jury instruction.

Olsen’s argument focused on whether or not the gun met the definition of “firearm.” Olsen

referred the jury to the instruction defining the term “firearm” and told the jury that although the

State argued about what this instruction meant, it was the jury’s job “to go back and decide what

2 Olsen cited our decision Pierce, 155 Wn. App. at 714, as the source of this instruction. 3 11 WASHINGTON PRACTICE: WASHINGTON PATTERN JURY INSTRUCTIONS: CRIMINAL 2.10, at 60 (4th ed. 2016) (WPIC).

4 No. 51531-8-II

you believe this specific language [in the instruction] means.” VRP (Nov. 1, 2017) at 152. Olsen

then argued that the phrase “[m]ay be fired by an explosive such as gun powder” required the jury

to determine whether the gun would actually fire. Id. In rebuttal, the State again argued that the

evidence demonstrated that the firearm was “legally a firearm” based on the jury instructions. Id.

at 158.

The jury found Olsen guilty of first degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Olsen appeals.

ANALYSIS

Olsen contends that the trial court erred when it failed to instruct the jury that it had to find

that the gun he possessed was operable in order to find that it was a “firearm” and asserts that the

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449 P.3d 1089, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-washington-v-michael-s-olsen-washctapp-2019.