PEOPLE OF MI V PAUL EDWARD SIAN
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
June 15, 2004
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 245666
Bay Circuit Court
LC No. 02-010590-FH
PAUL EDWARD SIAN,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Neff, P.J., and Zahra and Murray, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
Defendant appeals as of right his conviction of domestic assault, third offense, MCL
750.81(4), entered after a jury trial. We affirm.
Defendant was charged with domestic assault as a result of an allegation by complainant,
his wife, that he struck her in the chest with a radio and shoved her against a vehicle during the
course of an argument. At trial complainant denied that an assault occurred. She acknowledged
that she reported an assault to a 911 operator and the police, but stated she did so because she
was angry with defendant. Shortly after the incident, complainant and defendant’s children, ages
seven and five, told police that defendant shoved complainant. At trial, the children gave
conflicting testimony.
In reviewing a sufficiency of the evidence question, we view the evidence in a light most
favorable to the prosecution to determine whether a rational trier of fact could conclude that the
elements of the offense were proven beyond a reasonable doubt. We do not interfere with the
jury’s role of determining the weight of the evidence or the credibility of witnesses. People v
Wolfe, 440 Mich 508, 514-515; 489 NW2d 748 (1992), amended 441 Mich 1201 (1992); People
v Milstead, 250 Mich App 391, 404; 648 NW2d 648 (2002). A trier of fact may make
reasonable inferences from direct or circumstantial evidence in the record. People v Vaughn,
186 Mich App 376, 379-380; 465 NW2d 365 (1990).
Domestic assault is proved by establishing that the defendant and the victim are
associated in one of the ways set forth in the statute, and that the defendant either intended to
batter the victim or that the defendant’s unlawful act placed the victim in reasonable
apprehension of being battered. Domestic assault is a specific intent crime. MCL 750.81(2);
People v Corbiere, 220 Mich App 260, 266; 559 NW2d 666 (1996).
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Defendant argues that insufficient evidence was produced to support his conviction. We
disagree and affirm. The credibility of the witnesses was for the jury to determine. The jury was
entitled to conclude that the trial testimony given by complainant and the children was not
credible, and that the prior statements given by those witnesses contained an accurate account of
the incident. Milstead, supra. Complainant’s account of the incident, contained in her
statements to the 911 operator and the police, established the offense of domestic assault. MCL
750.81; Corbiere, supra. The evidence, when viewed in a light most favorable to the
prosecution, was sufficient to support defendant’s conviction. Wolfe, supra.
Affirmed.
/s/ Janet T. Neff
/s/ Brian K. Zahra
/s/ Christopher M. Murray
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