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STATE OF MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v COREY HOLMES, Defendant-Appellee.

UNPUBLISHED May 22, 2012

No. 304115 Wayne Circuit Court LC No. 10-013031-FH

Before: SERVITTO, P.J., and CAVANAGH and FORT HOOD, JJ. PER CURIAM. The prosecution appeals as of right orders granting defendant's motion to suppress evidence and dismissing the charge of carrying a concealed weapon, MCL 750.227. We reverse and remand for further proceedings. While on patrol in a high crime area, Detroit police officers Anthony Jones and Gregory Jones saw defendant standing with several other males on the sidewalk in front of a house located on Algonac Street. After defendant looked in their direction, he immediately grabbed his waistband, began walking backwards toward the house, then turned and ran inside the house. The officers stopped in front of that house and Officer Anthony Jones, the passenger, exited the vehicle. While standing on the front lawn, the officer was able to see inside the house through a large picture window and he saw defendant pull a gun from his waistband and toss it to the floor. The officer then knocked on the front door, and defendant came to the door but said that he did not know how to open the door. Eventually, defendant exited the house through the front window, and he was detained. Officer Anthony Jones then knocked on the door again, and a person came to the door and opened it. He gave the officers permission to enter the house, but said that he did not live at the house and did not know who lived at the house. The officers entered the house and Officer Gregory Jones found a handgun on the floor, near the window where Officer Anthony Jones saw defendant toss the gun. Defendant was charged with carrying a concealed weapon. Defendant filed a motion to suppress the recovered gun, alleging that the warrantless search was illegal. An evidentiary hearing followed. The trial court concluded that the officers did not have probable cause to "chase" defendant; that defendant was standing outside with a group of people and touched his waistband did not give rise to probable cause. Thus, defendant's subsequent arrest violated the Fourth Amendment. The court further held that the -1-

search of the house conducted without a warrant was also illegal. Peering into a window and allegedly seeing defendant toss a gun did not establish probable cause sufficient to permit a search of the house without a warrant. Accordingly, defendant's motion was granted and the charge of carrying a concealed weapon was dismissed. This appeal followed. The prosecution first argues that defendant's Fourth Amendment rights were not violated because "an officer's act of stopping his vehicle and following a defendant toward a house without stopping him does not constitute a seizure." We agree. This Court reviews de novo a trial court's ultimate decision with regard to a motion to suppress evidence; however, we review the trial court's findings of fact in deciding the motion for clear error. People v Burrell, 417 Mich 439, 448-449; 339 NW2d 403 (1983); People v Darwich, 226 Mich App 635, 636; 575 NW2d 44 (1997). Where admissibility of evidence depends on a question of law, this Court's review is de novo. People v Callon, 256 Mich App 312, 321; 662 NW2d 501 (2003). A finding of fact is clearly erroneous if, after review of the entire record, this Court is left with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made. Id. The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Michigan Constitution prohibit unreasonable searches and seizures. US Const, Am IV; Const 1963, art 1,

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