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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS


PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v ERIC MAURICE HAMMOND, Defendant-Appellant.

UNPUBLISHED September 18, 2008

No. 278220 Wayne Circuit Court LC No. 06-010856-01

Before: Borrello, P.J., and Murray and Fort Hood, JJ. PER CURIAM. Defendant was convicted of felon in possession of a firearm, MCL 750.224f, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (felony-firearm), MCL 750.227b. Defendant was sentenced to six months to five years' imprisonment for the felon in possession of a firearm conviction, and five years' imprisonment for the felony-firearm conviction. Defendant appeals as of right. For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we affirm. This case arises from an arrest that occurred on September 6, 2006, in Detroit, Michigan Around 2:40 a.m., on that date, Detroit police sergeant Kurt Worboys was patrolling the area of Brentwood and Charleston in an undercover vehicle. He observed two vehicles parked in the middle of Brentwood with two individuals standing in the street talking to someone in one of the vehicles. Sergeant Worboys testified that the first individual was a black male dressed in darkly colored clothing, and he was leaning into the window of a vehicle. The second individual was also a black male and was dressed in dark clothing, but he was several inches shorter than the first and had a lighter complexion. Worboys observed that the second individual was standing behind the first individual and holding a "blue steel" semi-automatic handgun down to his left side. Worboys immediately radioed for additional officers and Officer Mitchell and Officer Owen responded that they were on their way. The two vehicles in the street started to drive away. Worboys began to follow them, but was only a block away when he heard on his radio that the other officers were arriving on the scene, and he headed back to assist them. As he approached the original location, he observed the officers exit their vehicles and begin chasing two individuals. Worboys saw at least one individual run up onto the porch at 412 Brentwood. Approximately five minutes later, Sergeant Worboys gained entry to the residence. At trial, he identified defendant as the individual he saw when he entered the house. He testified that defendant had attempted to barricade the door with

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a couch and people in the house were shouting. The other officers secured the individuals on the ground floor, while Sergeant Worboys went upstairs to conduct a protective sweep of the house. Sergeant Worboys testified that when he entered an upstairs bedroom he saw a black male dressed in dark clothing trying to get underneath a bed. He further testified that the individual he saw in the bedroom was not present in the courtroom on the day of trial. Sergeant Worboys placed that individual under arrest. He then looked into the bedroom closet and saw a loaded rifle in plain view. Officer John Mitchell testified that when he first approached the scene in his fully marked police vehicle, he saw an individual squatting on the sidewalk in front of 412 Brentwood. At trial, he identified that individual as defendant. While in pursuit of defendant, Officer Mitchell observed defendant reach into his front waistband and pull out a blue steel semiautomatic handgun. Defendant dropped the gun to the ground near the porch steps. Defendant disappeared into the house, and Officer Mitchell ran to the backyard to make sure defendant would not flee from a back door. After other officers forced entry into the house, Officer Mitchell came back around to the front porch where he recovered a loaded .40 caliber Glock blue steel automatic handgun from where defendant had dropped it near the porch. Sergeant John Falk questioned defendant at the station house. The parties stipulated that defendant was sufficiently advised of his rights and his statement was voluntarily given. Defendant indicated in his statement that he was not outside 412 Brentwood the previous night with a gun and denied that he had run onto the porch and dropped something to the ground, and stated instead, that he was using the bathroom when police started kicking in the front door. Finally, when asked whether he ever handled or touched a Glock firearm, defendant responded, "No. But I was

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