PEOPLE OF MI V EMANUEL MAURICE BROWN
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
July 2, 1996
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 179782
LC No. 93-008307
EMANUEL MAURICE BROWN,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Young, P.J., and Holbrook and Ernst,* JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Defendant was convicted by jury of voluntary manslaughter, MCL 750.321; MSA 28.553,
possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, MCL 750.227b; MSA 28.424(2), and
receiving and concealing a stolen firearm, MCL 750.535b; MSA 28.803(2). Defendant was sentenced
to two years of imprisonment for the felony-firearm conviction to be served prior to concurrent terms of
imprisonment of ten to fifteen years for the manslaughter conviction and six to ten years for the receiving
and concealing conviction. We affirm.
I
Defendant called the police to report that his girlfriend had been shot by a gunman who
mysteriously ambushed defendant’s girlfriend after defendant allowed this man to enter his apartment.
Later that evening, defendant’s neighbor surrendered a handgun to police that defendant asked him to
hide. When confronted with this information, defendant explained that he and his girlfriend had been
fighting over the fact that he sold drugs. According to defendant, his girlfriend raised a handgun to her
head and threatened to kill herself, and defendant unsuccessfully attempted to save his girlfriend from
herself. At trial, defendant admitted that he initially lied to the police in order to be with his girlfriend as
she recovered from her wounds. He testified that after learning that she was dead, he explained how
she was shot accidentally after he attempted to wrestle the gun away from her. Evidence based on
* Circuit judge, sitting on the Court of Appeals by assignment.
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testimony from the medical examiner and crime lab expert established that the gun was fired several feet
away from the victim’s head.
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II
Defendant challenges several evidentiary rulings by the trial court. The decision to admit
evidence at trial lies within the trial court’s discretion. People v Taylor, 195 Mich App 57, 60; 489
NW2d 99 (1992).
First, defendant argues that the trial court improperly admitted evidence of defendant’s
involvement in a prior shooting, claiming that the evidence was irrelevant and prejudicial. We disagree.
As required by MRE 404(b), the prosecution moved before trial to introduce this evidence to counter
defendant’s “accident” defense. Defendant claimed that his girlfriend died of an “accidental” shooting
resulting from his struggle to save her. MRE 404(b) specifically allows the admission of prior bad acts
to show “absence of mistake or accident.” At trial, the prosecution admitted testimony regarding a
prior incident wherein defendant fired a gun at a van full of people. Following the presentation of this
evidence, the trial court immediately cautioned the jury that the evidence was admitted for the limited
purpose of defendant’s claim of “accident.” The court reiterated this caution when charging the jury
before deliberations. Based on our review of the record, we find that the evidence was admitted for a
purpose other than propensity, was more probative than prejudicial, and that defendant’s interests were
protected by the use of limiting instructions. See People v VanderVliet, 444 Mich 52, 74-75; 508
NW2d 114 (1993). Accordingly, we find no abuse of discretion.
Second, defendant argues that the admission of fourteen nine millimeter shell casings recovered
outside his apartment was irrelevant and prejudicial. Defendant’s gun was a nine millimeter gun. The
casings were introduced along with many other exhibits recovered during the investigation of the crime
scene. These include a box of live ammunition, nine millimeter bullets, found in defendant’s kitchen, and
one nine millimeter shell casing, recovered from the bedroom where defendant’s girlfriend was shot.
The record indicates that the single shell casing was linked to defendant’s gun. Inasmuch as defendant
admitted to struggling with the gun which accidentally caused the death of his girlfriend, this evidence is
relevant to the issues involved in the case. Although the fired shell casings may have been prejudicial
from defendant’s vantage, the evidence was not unfairly prejudicial. See People v Hoffman, 205 Mich
App 1, 18; 518 NW2d 817 (1994). Accordingly, we find no error.
Finally, defendant challenges the admission of drug paraphernalia that was recovered from
defendant’s apartment. Defendant admitted at trial that he sold drugs and that before the shooting, he
argued with his girlfriend about his drug selling activities. Thus, the evidence was relevant to the issues
raised at trial and did not unfairly prejudice defendant. MRE 401, 403.
III
Defendant next argues that the forensic pathologist was not qualified to render an opinion
regarding the implications of gunpowder residue or the absence thereof on the victim’s body. This
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Court reviews the trial court’s admission of expert testimony for an abuse of discretion. People v
Christel, 449 Mich 578, 587; 537 NW2d 194 (1995).
The forensic pathologist testified that, in his opinion, the absence of gunpowder residue on the
victim’s head indicated that the gun was held at least two to three feet away from the victim’s head.
Before permitting expert testimony, the trial court must find that the evidence is from a recognized
discipline, as well as relevant and helpful to the trier of fact, and presented by a witness qualified by
“knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education. . . .” MRE 702; Christel, supra, 449 Mich 587.
This expert was qualified to render this opinion. He had performed seven to eight hundred autopsies
involving gunshot victims, and, as part of his training, this expert observed tests conducted of known
weapons to determine gunpowder residue patterns resulting from shooting a weapon at various
distances. Thus, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing this expert to testify regarding the
absence of gunpowder residue on the victim’s head. We find no error.
IV
Defendant lastly argues that the trial court improperly denied his motion for a directed verdict
related to the receiving and concealing count because the evidence was insufficient to establish that he
knew the gun was stolen. We disagree. When reviewing a motion for a directed verdict, this Court
views the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution to determine whether a rational trier of
fact could have found that the essential elements of the crime were proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
People v Hampton, 407 Mich 354, 368; 285 NW2d 284 (1979), cert den 449 US 885; 101 S Ct
239; 66 L Ed 2d 110 (1980) . Guilty knowledge includes constructive knowledge that can be inferred
from the surrounding facts and circumstances. People v Scott, 154 Mich App 615, 617; 397 NW2d
852 (1986), and a defendant’s lack of reasonable explanation can be considered when determining a
defendant’s guilty knowledge. People v Salata, 79 Mich App 415, 422; 262 NW2d 844 (1977).
After reviewing the record, we find that defendant’s motion for a directed verdict was properly
denied. The prosecution presented evidence that defendant procured an unregistered gun “off the
street,” and that defendant made no attempt to register it. Defendant testified that he received the gun
from a “friend” and was too young to register the gun when he acquired it. As the trial court correctly
recognized, the credibility of defendant’s explanation was for the jury to determine, and the jury’s
disregard of it establishes that the evidence was sufficient to support defendant’s conviction for receiving
and concealing a stolen firearm. People v Velasquez, 189 Mich App 14, 16; 472 NW2d 289 (1991).
Affirmed.
/s/ Robert P. Young, Jr.
/s/ Donald E. Holbrook, Jr.
/s/ J. Richard Ernst
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