PEOPLE OF MI V BERTHA MAE PROVOST

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STATE OF MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, UNPUBLISHED February 12, 2002 Plaintiff-Appellee, V No. 226571 Washtenaw Circuit Court LC No. 99-011965-FC BERTHA MAE PROVOST, Defendant-Appellant. Before: Bandstra, C.J., and Fitzgerald and Gage, JJ. GAGE, J. (concurring). While I concur in the result reached by the majority, I write separately to express my conclusion that the trial court did not err in the admission of the prior bank robbery convictions. For purposes of showing the identity of the perpetrator, this case involves numerous distinctive physical characteristics. People v Smith, 243 Mich App 657, 669-672; 625 NW2d 46 (2000), remanded ___ Mich ___ (Docket No. 118530, order issued December 18, 2001). Four separate witnesses described defendant as a small white female with a very slender frame. Indeed a fifth witness thought, at first, the robber was a child. Furthermore, in all of defendant’s robberies, she wore gloves, a ski mask and passed a note. I believe that incidents involving petite, female bank robbers wearing gloves and a ski mask are distinctive enough to permit the inference of identification under MRE 404(b)(1). /s/ Hilda R. Gage -1-

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