151 results for 'cat:"Evidence" AND cat:"Firearms"'.
J. Riedmann finds the trial court properly convicted defendant by plea agreement for second degree murder and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Defendant called 911, saying that he was using CPR on a person with a gunshot wound. Defendant then reported that the victim was dead, admitting that he had shot her because she wouldn't stop yelling. Officers discovered the victim with multiple gunshot wounds, later finding defendant at his brother-in-law's house pursuant to another 911 call. Substantial evidence supports the convictions. No abuse of discretion is found. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Riedmann , Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: A-23-942, Categories: evidence, firearms, Murder
J. Moore finds the trial court properly convicted defendant by plea agreement for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, making terroristic threats, operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest, and driving while under suspension. Defendant was arrested after he called the sheriff's dep't. threatening to kill his mother, making additional threats to law enforcement and other civilians. Sufficient evidence supports the convictions, though the court committed plain error by sentencing defendant to determinate sentences rather than indeterminate sentences on three of the four counts. Affirmed in part. Vacated in part.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Moore , Filed On: May 14, 2024, Case #: A-23-826, Categories: evidence, firearms, Threats
J. Gruender finds a lower court improperly allowed a defendant's motion to suppress evidence after he was charged with knowingly possessing a firearm, following a prior conviction of an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than a year. The defendant argued that the lower court properly allowed his motion to suppress evidence of a firearm located in a white vehicle in a tenant parking lot, which he was a passenger, and that police officers did not have reasonable suspicion to stop the parked vehicle. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that authorities were entitled to search the vehicle based on reasonable suspicion that defendant may have been engaging in criminal activity in a well known high crime area in the middle of the night. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 23-2720, Categories: evidence, firearms, Sentencing
J. O'Neil finds a lower court improperly sentenced a defendant to second degree murder after he shot and killed a coworker inside of a vehicle. The State argued that it properly presented evidence in court concerning items located in the defendant's residence, which included firearms and ammunition, and that he is an unreasonable person. However, the defendant sufficiently showed in court that the government improperly submitted evidence that was harmless and prejudicial. Reversed.
Court: Arizona Court Of Appeals Division Two, Judge: O'Neil, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 2 CA-CR 2023-64, Categories: evidence, firearms, Murder
J. Gruender finds a lower court improperly allowed a defendant's motion to suppress evidence after he was charged with knowingly possessing a firearm, following a prior conviction of an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than a year. The defendant argued that the lower court properly allowed his motion to suppress evidence of a firearm located in a white vehicle in a tenant parking lot, which he was a passenger, and that police officers did not have reasonable suspicion to stop the parked vehicle. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that authorities were entitled to search the vehicle based on reasonable suspicion that defendant may have been engaging in criminal activity in a well known high crime area in the middle of the night. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 23-2720, Categories: evidence, firearms, Sentencing
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J. Gruender finds a lower court improperly allowed a defendant's motion to suppress evidence after he was charged with knowingly possessing a firearm, following a prior conviction of an offense punishable by imprisonment for more than a year. The defendant argued that the lower court properly allowed his motion to suppress evidence of a firearm located in a white vehicle in a tenant parking lot, which he was a passenger, and that police officers did not have reasonable suspicion to stop the parked vehicle. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that authorities were entitled to search the vehicle based on reasonable suspicion that defendant may have been engaging in criminal activity in a well known high crime area in the middle of the night. Reversed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Gruender, Filed On: May 13, 2024, Case #: 23-2720, Categories: evidence, firearms, Sentencing
J. Cadish finds the trial court properly convicted defendant, by no-contest plea, for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Defendant was pulled over for driving without a license plate light. It was discovered he had an active warrant and he was arrested. Defendant moved to suppress a weapon found during a warrantless search of his vehicle on the basis that the search was not an inventory search, but a ruse to conduct an investigatory search. The search was reasonable under the totality of the circumstances, and no error is found in the court's denial of the motion to suppress. Affirmed.
Court: Nevada Supreme Court, Judge: Cadish , Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 85564, Categories: evidence, firearms, Search
J. Hoyle finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder. Testimony from neighbors shows defendant and his girlfriend were experiencing tension in the relationship after their daughter was born, and that this was exacerbated by defendant's recent wreck in his truck and a winter storm. A female witness with whom defendant had flirted in the past testified the girlfriend retrieved a gun when defendant taunted her with the flirtation. Defendant shot and killed the girlfriend when attempting to take the gun from her. His version of how the shooting occurred was inconsistent with the blood spatter evidence and other forensic evidence, such as the fact that the bullet did not exit the girlfriend's skull. A rational factfinder reasonably could infer that defendant intentionally or knowingly shot the victim. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Hoyle , Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 12-23-00208-CR, Categories: evidence, firearms, Murder
J. Cole finds that the lower court improperly convicted and sentenced defendant for possession of a short-barreled shotgun. Defendant argues, and the court agrees, that the state failed to show “that she was in constructive possession of the short-barreled shotgun,” which was allegedly found inside a closed tool case in her husband’s vehicle. Reversed.
Court: Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Cole, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: CR-2022-1131, Categories: evidence, firearms
J. Wall finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to life imprisonment without possibility of parole for 25 years following the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy who sold him a BB gun and not Glock pistol. The defendant argued that he was denied a fair trial when the State interviewed prospective jurors and asked them if they would do their "job" in court, unfairly suggested that he was not thinking about his daughter while committing a violent crime, and then erred in certifying him as an adult. However, the State presented sufficient evidence in court that the defendant submitted three versions of the incident, falsely claiming that he took the rap for the actual killer because he was "freaked out," and then attempted to reframe an evidentiary challenge as a prosecutorial error. Affirmed.
Court: Kansas Supreme Court, Judge: Wall, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 125430, Categories: evidence, firearms, Murder
J. Pillard upholds the trial court's refusal to suppress evidence retrieved from defendant's cell phone during his trial on unlawfully trafficking and transporting firearms. The search warrant for the phone, which was found near a different suspect, relied on its association with that suspect and its evidentiary value, rather than ownership of the phone. Affirmed.
Court: DC Circuit, Judge: Pillard, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 22-3069 , Categories: evidence, firearms, Search
J. Welch finds the trial court properly convicted defendant, by no-contest plea, for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, sentencing him to 6 to 8 years in prison. After responding to an early morning report of gunshots, officers found a bullet in the flat tire of a vehicle involved in the altercation. The gun connected to the bullet was later found in defendant's girlfriend's vehicle during a traffic stop. All sentencing factors were properly considered, including defendant's criminal record and claims of posttraumatic stress disorder. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welch , Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: A-23-817, Categories: evidence, firearms, Sentencing
J. Deahl finds it is unclear whether defendant, who was convicted of firearm possession, consented to a search of his pocket after he was stopped by officers because he matched the description of an armed robber in that location. Upon remand, the trial court must determine whether defendant "freely and voluntarily" consented to the search.
Court: DC Court of Appeals, Judge: Deahl, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 22-CF-0520 , Categories: evidence, firearms, Search
J. Ruiz upholds the trial court's suppression of a firearm seized from defendant's backpack. The government failed to show defendant had abandoned the backpack when the officers retrieved it, without probable cause or a warrant, from a hidden spot within a home with which defendant had a connection. Affirmed.
Court: DC Court of Appeals, Judge: Ruiz, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 19-CO-1094 , Categories: evidence, firearms, Search
J. Ginsburg upholds defendant's conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Contrary to defendant's argument, the trial court was not required to suppress evidence, as the officers' protective pat-down search was justified. Affirmed.
Court: DC Circuit, Judge: Ginsburg, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: 22-3024 , Categories: evidence, firearms, Search
J. Love finds that the trial court properly granted defendant's motion to suppress evidence seized. The state does not show that the concealed gun evidence would have been discovered "inevitably or by an independent source." Further, the mere concealment of a firearm is not an offense subject to an arrest. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Love, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: 2024-K-0169, Categories: evidence, firearms, Miranda
J. Montgomery finds the lower court properly denied defendant’s motion to suppress evidence collected during the search of a vehicle. Defendant pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a weapon and theft of property, and received an effective 12-year sentence to confinement. During the course of a traffic stop, a stolen handgun was found under the driver’s seat of a vehicle the defendant was driving. Defendant argues officers did not have probable cause to search the vehicle, but the lower court determined that since one of the responding officers smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle, the odor established probable cause for the warrantless search. Affirmed.
Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Montgomery, Filed On: April 11, 2024, Case #: W2023-00713-CCA-R3-CD, Categories: evidence, firearms, Search
J. Thompson finds that defendant should not have been convicted of illegal possession of a stolen firearm. In this case, the state did not show that the gun was stolen because the jury was not provided with the name of the person who owned the gun, the date/location when stolen, the name of the investigating officer, or the name of the officer who entered the gun as stolen. Further, there was no information on the report of the gun being stolen. Reversed in part.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Thompson , Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 55,444-KA, Categories: evidence, firearms
J. King finds the lower court properly denied the defendant's suppression motion. Police tracked a pair of men that vaguely matched the description witnesses of a murder gave. The two men carried small black bags. An officer approached the pair at an apartment complex, and they immediately tried to escape, but the defendant was unsuccessful. Before the officer could cuff the defendant, he flung his bag into the courtyard below. Inside the bag was a pistol matching the description of the murder weapon, along with cannabis. The defendant argued the officer had no right to search through his bag, but the defendant relinquished ownership of the bag when he threw it away. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: King, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 23-4179, Categories: evidence, firearms, Murder
J. McCullough finds the lower court improperly reversed a defendant’s conviction for use of a firearm in the commission of a felon. The defendant fired a shotgun at an open window, badly wounding his girlfriend. He was indicted for several felonies; the most serious of those was aggravated malicious wounding, carrying the possibility of a life sentence. The defense strategy at trial was to contest only one issue: whether the defendant fired the gun with malice instead of accidentally or recklessly. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the other crimes but didn’t contest them when the evidence came in. The “approbate and reprobate” doctrine bars the defendant’s attempt to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence on the charge of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Ends of justice may help a convicted defendant to overcome a conviction where his lawyer failed to object or raised an issue too late, but it doesn’t cover intentional, strategic choices like this one. Reversed.
Court: Virginia Supreme Court, Judge: McCullough , Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 230343 , Categories: evidence, firearms, Sentencing
J. Kobes finds a lower court properly convicted a defendant for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The defendant argued that the lower court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence of a rifle located in his vehicle under a towel after his girlfriend gave a police officer permission to search his car. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that the defendant's girlfriend was authorized to give consent after realizing that the police were not after her, and that the interactions were "cordial and polite." Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kobes, Filed On: April 1, 2024, Case #: 23-1505, Categories: evidence, firearms, Search
J. Smith finds a lower court properly denied a defendant's motion to suppress evidence located in his vehicle during a traffic stop for equipment violations. The defendant argued that authorities improperly obtained a warrant to search his residence, which resulted in the discovery of cash, cocaine, and a loaded firearm. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that police officers were entitled to enter his home after he called an associate from his cell phone while sitting in the back of a patrol car and directed him to hide his drugs, which was captured on a dash cam. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Smith, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 23-1412, Categories: Drug Offender, evidence, firearms
J. Keller finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to dismiss his criminal case for possession of a firearm without a permit. Evidence in the record indicated he intended to remain in Connecticut for a long period of time, which would have allowed him to apply for a permit and contradicted his arguments before the court. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Keller, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: AC46906, Categories: evidence, firearms
J. Jackson finds the lower court properly convicted defendant of 13 crimes including the premeditated attempted murder of law enforcement when he went on a three-day crime spree that ended in him crashing a stolen vehicle into a busy intersection during rush hour and engaging in a shootout with law enforcement, injuring two police officers. Evidence is sufficient to support his convictions and sentence to a determinate term of 35 years 8 months and a total indeterminate term of 30 years to life. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Jackson, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: A166011, Categories: evidence, firearms, Murder
J. Gaughan denies, in part, the gun part supplier's motion for summary judgment, ruling that while it is undisputed it shipped all required parts under the "gas key" agreement with the gun manufacturer, it was made aware of defects with several shipments and, therefore, there are questions of fact as to whether it fully performed and was entitled to payment under the contract.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Gaughan, Filed On: March 25, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv1471, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: evidence, firearms, Contract
Per curiam, the Louisiana high court finds that the court of appeal should not have reversed defendant's conviction for aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated criminal damage to property, and illegal discharge of a firearm for shooting at a pickup truck containing law enforcement officers as they fled after conducting a "trash pull" narcotics investigation at defendant's home. The ambiguous references made to the officers conducting the trash pull as part of a narcotics investigation do not constitute impermissible references to other crimes under jurisprudence. Although the state improperly impeached defendant with the facts surrounding a prior conviction for interfering with a police officer, the error was harmless based on the testimonial and physical evidence showing defendant fired his weapon at a fleeing vehicle in the street. Reversed.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 22, 2024, Case #: 2023-K-00008, Categories: evidence, firearms
J. Wiley finds that the trial court should have suppressed the gun police found in defendant's possession during an unlawful detention. A reasonable person would not have felt free to leave after police pulled their car so close to defendant's that he could only maybe squeeze out the door, and then shined their flashlights into the car from both sides. Reversed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Wiley, Filed On: March 15, 2024, Case #: B328954, Categories: evidence, firearms, Search
J. Gallagher finds defendant's convictions for unlawful possession of a firearm were not against the weight of the evidence. Although there were inconsistencies in the testimony of the only witness to claim defendant had a gun on his person on the night of the shooting and she was disrespectful during trial proceedings, she also provided detailed evidence about where the gun was located and moved during the crime. Because the trial court was in the best position to determine witness credibility, the convictions cannot be vacated. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gallagher, Filed On: March 14, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-961, Categories: evidence, firearms