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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS


PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v SCOTT JAMES ANDERSON, Defendant-Appellant.

UNPUBLISHED July 20, 2006

No. 260593 Kalamazoo Circuit Court LC No. 04-001249-FC

Before: Talbot, P.J., and Owens and Murray, JJ. PER CURIAM. Following a jury trial, defendant was convicted of first-degree home invasion, MCL 750.110a(2). He was sentenced as an habitual offender, fourth offense, MCL 769.12, to fifteen to thirty-five years' imprisonment. Defendant appeals as of right. We affirm. In the early morning hours of August 13, 2004, defendant and Otis Belin went to a house rented by Bruce Ramsdell and Thomas Gormley. Angela Kirk and her children were staying with Ramsdell and Gormley at the time. Defendant and Belin kicked in a door and entered the house. Gormley fled just before they entered. Once inside, Belin put a knife to Kirk's throat as she tried to call the police. Defendant subsequently threatened Kirk, his ex-girlfriend, with an orange pipe. Ramsdell engaged in a fistfight with defendant and Belin. His wallet was stolen before defendant and Belin fled. Ramsdell, Gormley, and Kirk all knew defendant and Belin, and identified them as their assailants. Defendant and an alibi witness claimed that defendant was elsewhere drinking at the time of this incident. Defendant testified that the allegations against him were fabricated. He claimed that Ramsdell and Kirk had a vendetta against him because defendant was dating Ramsdell's ex-girlfriend, who was Kirk's former best friend. Defendant first argues the trial court erroneously denied his mid-trial request to proceed in propria persona or be appointed substitute counsel. Generally, we review a trial court's factual findings surrounding a defendant's waiver of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel for clear error. People v Russell, 471 Mich 182, 187; 684 NW2d 745 (2004). However, if the ruling involves an issue of law or constitutional question, review is de novo. Id. We will not disturb a trial court's decision on a defendant's motion for substitute counsel absent an abuse of discretion. People v Traylor, 245 Mich App 460, 462; 628 NW2d 120 (2001). A criminal defendant's right to represent himself is implicitly guaranteed by the United States Constitution, US Const, Am VI, Faretta v California, 422 US 806; 95 S Ct 2525; 45 L Ed -1-


2d 562 (1975), and explicitly guaranteed by the Michigan Constitution and state statute, Const 1963, art 1,

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