PEOPLE OF MI V GRADY JEROME ELERSON
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
August 11, 2009
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 285481
Wayne Circuit Court
LC No. 08-000658-FH
GRADY JEROME ELERSON,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Owens, P. J., and Servitto, and Gleicher, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Defendant appeals as of right his bench trial conviction of unarmed robbery, MCL
750.530. Defendant was sentenced to 5 to 15 years of imprisonment. We affirm.
Defendant claims on appeal that there was insufficient evidence for the trial court to have
determined that each of the elements of unarmed robbery was proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
We disagree.
A challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence in a bench trial is reviewed “de novo and
in a light most favorable to the prosecution to determine whether the trial court could have found
the essential elements of the crime were proved beyond a reasonable doubt.” People v ShermanHuffman, 241 Mich App 264, 265; 615 NW2d 776 (2000). “All conflicts with regard to the
evidence must be resolved in favor of the prosecution. Circumstantial evidence and reasonable
inferences drawn from it may be sufficient to prove the elements of the crime.” People v
Wilkens, 267 Mich App 728, 738; 705 NW2d 728 (2005) (internal citations omitted).
On December 22, 2007, 85-year-old Rose Jackson was shopping at the CVS Pharmacy
located at the corner of Joy Road and Merriman Road in Westland, Michigan. As she was
walking away from the store, defendant pulled up in a black vehicle and grabbed Jackson’s
purse. Jackson resisted, leaned into the vehicle and shouted for help. As Jackson held onto the
purse and leaned into the vehicle, the vehicle drove away, pulling Jackson along for
approximately three feet before she lost her grip and fell to the ground. The struggle and fall
caused Jackson to injure her arm and both knees.
“A person who, in the course of committing a larceny of any money or other property
that may be the subject of larceny, uses force or violence against any person who is present, or
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who assaults or puts the person in fear,” is guilty of unarmed robbery. MCL 750.530(1); People
v Chambers, 277 Mich App 1, 7; 742 NW2d 610 (2007).
There is no dispute that there was sufficient evidence to support a finding beyond a
reasonable doubt that a larceny occurred. Jackson had her purse involuntarily taken from her as
she left the CVS Pharmacy. Instead, defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence that
linked him to the larceny and also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence that showed force
was used during the commission of the larceny.
First, there was sufficient evidence that supported the finding beyond a reasonable doubt
that it was defendant who committed the larceny. An eyewitness, Jody Miller, identified
defendant as the person who took Jackson’s purse. Furthermore, Miller saw the vehicle that
defendant was driving and provided an overall description to police: a black man wearing all
black clothing who was driving a black car with no license plate. Shortly after giving her
statement to police, the Redford police stopped defendant, a black man, driving a black vehicle
with no license plate, on Joy Road a few miles away from the CVS store. Miller’s description
also included the fact that the driver was wearing a black coat and a dark knit cap. The police
recovered a black, puffy, winter coat and a dark knit cap from defendant’s possession.
Furthermore, Jackson’s stolen belongings were found in defendant’s possession.
In making the argument that there was insufficient evidence linking him to the crime,
defendant relies on the fact that he received a “favorable instruction” regarding a missing
prosecution witness. While the “favorable instruction” allows the fact-finder to infer that the
witness would have supplied evidence unfavorable to the prosecution,1 it does not dictate the
outcome of this appeal. Even though the trial court and this Court are to assume that this missing
witness’ testimony would have differed from the eyewitness testimony of Miller and Jackson,
and would have been unfavorable to the prosecution, any favorable inference that was gained by
the instruction is effectively negated on appeal since “[a]ll conflicts with regard to the evidence
must be resolved in favor of the prosecution.” Wilkens, supra at 738. Therefore, by viewing the
evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution, there was sufficient evidence for the trial
court to determine beyond a reasonable doubt that it was defendant who committed this crime.
Second, there is sufficient evidence to support a finding that the crime committed was
unarmed robbery and not merely larceny from a person. The only difference between the two
crimes is the presence of a “force” element to elevate the crime to an unarmed robbery. People v
Douglas, 191 Mich App 660, 664; 478 NW2d 737 (1991); see People v Hicks, 259 Mich App
518, 531-532; 675 NW2d 599 (2003). The question becomes whether there was sufficient
evidence to show that force was used in the course of committing the larceny.
1
“[I]f the prosecutor fails to call a listed witness and has failed to [properly] delete that witness
from its witness list, . . . it may nonetheless be appropriate for the trial court to read CJI2d 5.12.”
People v Cook, 266 Mich App 290, 293 n 4; 702 NW2d 613 (2005). CJI2d 5.12 states, “[State
name of witness] is a missing witness whose appearance was the responsibility of the
prosecution. You may infer that this witness’s testimony would have been unfavorable to the
prosecution’s case.”
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In Hicks, the victim had her purse over her shoulder when the defendant grabbed the
purse from behind. Hicks, supra at 520. The victim “reacted by moving forward, and the
tugging grew stronger, forcing her backward. She struggled to hold on to her purse, but the
perpetrator wrestled the purse away from her and ran down [the street].” Id. The Hicks Court
held that this struggle over the purse was sufficient to meet the force requirement for the
unarmed robbery statute. Id. at 530-531.
The Hicks facts are similar to the facts in the instant case. Here, Jackson was holding
onto her purse when defendant drove up in his vehicle and grabbed at the purse. Miller testified
that she saw Jackson “hanging on [to something] and leaning into a car.” A reasonable inference
from this testimony is that while Jackson was pulled partially into the vehicle, she was struggling
and resisting defendant’s attempts at getting the purse. Pursuant to Hicks, this struggle would be
enough to satisfy the force element by itself. However, Miller also testified that while this
struggle occurred, the vehicle was moving, dragging Jackson along for approximately three feet
until Jackson lost her grip and fell to the ground. Dragging an 85-year-old woman involves the
use of some amount of force, regardless of how light or frail she may be. Thus, not only was
there evidence of a struggle between defendant and Jackson, but there was also evidence that
showed defendant used force to drag Jackson alongside his vehicle for several feet before she fell
to the ground. In any event, there was sufficient evidence to show beyond a reasonable doubt
that force was used during the course of a larceny.
Accordingly, after viewing all of the evidence in a light most favorable to the
prosecution, there was sufficient evidence for the trial court to have determined beyond a
reasonable doubt that it was defendant who used force during the commission of this larceny and
thereby committed unarmed robbery.
Affirmed.
/s/ Donald S. Owens
/s/ Deborah A. Servitto
/s/ Elizabeth L. Gleicher
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