PEOPLE OF MI V WALTER BOND SAPPINGTON
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
April 21, 1998
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 198824
Ogemaw Circuit Court
LC No. 95-000912 FH
WALTER BOND SAPPINGTON,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Neff, P.J., and White and D. A. Teeple*, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
Following his jury trial conviction for manufacture of marijuana, MCL 333.7401(4); MSA
14.15(7401)(4), defendant appeals by right. Defendant contends that the principal evidence against
him, which was procured in a search pursuant to a warrant, is a product of a variety of Fourth
Amendment violations.
Defendant first contends that information in the warrant was shown to be false at an evidentiary
hearing, and that this requires suppression of the evidence pursuant to Franks v Delaware, 438 US
154, 155-156; 98 S Ct 2674; 57 L Ed 2d 667 (1978). At the evidentiary hearing testimony was
presented which, if accepted by the trier of fact, would have supported such a determination; however,
there was contrary testimony, and the trier of fact expressed its conclusion that no falsity had been
demonstrated. This finding of historical fact is not clearly erroneous and therefore must be accepted by
this reviewing Court. Ornelas v United States, 517 US 690; 116 S Ct 1657, 1663; 134 L Ed 2d 911
(1996).
In his affidavit in support of the search warrant, Ogemaw Sheriff’s Deputy Clayton related
information supplied by Officer Byerlein, whose information came from two unnamed informants. The
reliability of these informants was supported by a recitation of verified information they had each
previously supplied to one or both officers, and the credibility of such informants is not here challenged.
Rather, defendant contends that the credibility of Officer Byerlein was not properly established. This
argument is without merit, inasmuch as Michigan courts have consistently recognized identified citizens
* Circuit judge, sitting on the Court of Appeals by assignment.
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and police officers as presumptively reliable for such purposes. People v Powell, 201 Mich App 516,
523; 506 NW2d 894 (1993). Officer Byerlein was indeed identified as a law enforcement officer in the
affidavit prepared by Deputy Clayton, bringing this case within the rule of Powell, supra.
Affirmed.
/s/ Janet T. Neff
/s/ Helene N. White
/s/ Donald A. Teeple
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