United States v. Nelson, No. 12-5477 (6th Cir. 2013)
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Officers responded to an anonymous 911 call reporting that a black man wearing a blue shirt, with a “poofy” afro, riding a bicycle, had a pistol. Officer Meredith arrived and began talking with Nelson, who precisely matched this description. Officer Massey then arrived and Nelson began to ride away on his bicycle. Meredith shouted at Nelson to stop, but Nelson kept riding away. Massey, in his squad car, followed Nelson at a distance of 10 to 25 feet, and saw Nelson reach into his waistband and throw a large, heavy object into bushes. Massey continued following Nelson to a parking lot, where Nelson was stopped. After Nelson was under arrest, officers recovered bullets from his pocket. Officers found a loaded gun at the location where Massey had seen Nelson throw an object. Nelson was charged as a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, 18 U.S.C. 922(g) and moved to exclude testimony regarding the 911 caller’s description of the suspect. The district court denied the motion. A jury convicted Nelson, who was sentenced to 84 months’ imprisonment. The Sixth Circuit vacated, rejecting a challenge to sufficiency of the evidence, but finding admission of the hearsay evidence prejudicial, notwithstanding the prosecution’s contention that it was admitted only as background information.
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