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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS


PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v THADIS LAMARR SPARKS, Defendant-Appellant.

UNPUBLISHED June 13, 2000

No. 211455 Genesee Circuit Court LC No. 97-001793-FC

Before: Markey, P.J., and Gribbs and Griffin, JJ. PER CURIAM. Defendant was convicted by a jury of armed robbery, MCL 750.529; MSA 28.797, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, MCL 750.227b; MSA 28.424(2), felon in possession of a firearm, MCL 750.224f; MSA 28.421(6), and carrying a concealed weapon, MCL 750.227; MSA 28.424. He was sentenced as a second habitual offender, MCL 769.10; MSA 28.1082, to concurrent prison terms of eight to twenty years for the armed robbery conviction, forty to sixty months for the felon in possession of a firearm conviction, forty to sixty months for the carrying a concealed weapon conviction, and a consecutive two-year term for the felony-firearm conviction. Defendant appeals by right. We affirm. I Defendant first argues that the trial court clearly erred in refusing to grant his motion to suppress the evidence found in his safe on the ground that the police seized the safe illegally when an officer lifted it momentarily and its top fell open, revealing its incriminating contents. We disagree. A trial court's ruling regarding a motion to suppress evidence as illegally seized will not be reversed on appeal unless the ruling is clearly erroneous. People v Stevens, 460 Mich 626, 630; 597 NW2d 53 (1999); People v Hampton, 237 Mich App 143, 148; 603 NW2d 270 (1999); see, also, People v Goforth, 222 Mich App 306, 310; 564 NW2d 526 (1997) (the validity of consent is reviewed for clear error). However, the application of a constitutional standard to uncontested facts is reviewed de novo as a question of law on appeal. Stevens, supra at 630-631; Goforth, supra at 310 n 4.

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Both the federal and state constitutions guarantee the right against unreasonable searches and seizures. US Const, Am IV; Const 1963, art 1,

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