Court Opinion

ID: 9698862
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 20:01:46.46903+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:20:44.120271
License: Public Domain

N. J. Kaufman, J.
(dissenting). I agree with the majority in their conclusion that the trial court erred in admitting, for impeachment purposes, evidence of defendant’s foreign conviction of an offense not cognizable as a crime in the state of Michigan. It should be emphasized that not only is misprision of a felony not a crime in Michigan but that Michigan has gone a step further and abolished aider and abettor status for accessories after the fact. See People v Lucas, 402 Mich 302; 262 NW2d 662 (1978).
I also agree with the reasoning of the majority that the trial court abused its discretion in allow*636ing the prosecution to present evidence of defendant’s foreign conviction as an unspecified "felony”. When a prior conviction is allowed to be admitted in this manner, its prejudicial effect outweighs its probative value. Instead of being given matter reflective of defendant’s credibility or lack thereof, the jury is left to speculate upon the severity of defendant’s prior conviction.
However, I disagree with the majority’s assessment of the gravity of this trial court error.. I find the instant situation to be controlled by People v Makidon, 84 Mich App 287; 269 NW2d 568 (1978), wherein it is held that "overwhelming” evidence of guilt can render improper impeachment harmless.
From the testimony and evidence adduced in the trial court, it appears that three people robbed the bait store. Two entered the store, one unmasked and the other masked. These individuals were identified as the codefendants. The third individual who participated in the robbery was never identified. An employee of the bait store testified that he saw another person in a mask outside the door of the store. The witness also related that the robbers were driving a silver Dodge van.
Within minutes of the robbery, a Wayne County police officer observed a silver Dodge van with three male occupants about 11 miles from the bait store. Having received the radio description of the robbers and their vehicle, the officer pursued the van. There followed a high speed chase ending with the van eventually stopping after hitting a parked vehicle.
After the van stopped, two individuals exited from the passenger side. One was identified as codefendant LaDosz, the unmasked individual who had been inside the bait store. The other was identified as codefendant Mazzio. Both were appre*637hended after a foot chase. Defendant Vincent was apprehended inside the van. Also found inside thé van were many stolen items from the bait store including the store clerk’s wallet, a knife and a shotgun. Additionally, two masks were found therein.
Thus, we have a robbery perpetrated by three individuals, two of whom wore masks. We have three individuals being apprehended in close proximity in both time and place to the robbery, one of whom is identified as the unmasked robber. At apprehension, these individuals occupied a vehicle of the same description as that of the robbers. The stolen merchandise was found in this vehicle. Defendant was found in the vehicle amidst this stolen merchandise.
In light of this evidence, defendant’s theory thát he was not the third man at the bait store or that, if he was, he was an unwilling participant in the robbery becomes extremely implausible. The fiist part of this theory fails in that it calls for an illogical assumption. To find defendant was not the third man at the bait store, one would have to assume that defendant was picked up by the robbers after the incident. It defies logic to conclude that fleeing villains would stop and pick up a stranger during their escape and allow this stranger to occupy a seat amidst their stolen merchandise. Moreover, if defendant’s theory is accepted, one álso has to assume that the third inasked robber, whose presence was testified to by the bait store clerk, was dropped off before defendant was picked up. Clearly, it is much more logically consistent to conclude that defendant was indeed this third robber.
Defendant’s duress theory is equally riddled with inconsistencies. The clerk testified that the *638third man wore a mask and remained outside the store. Assuming defendant was this third man, an altogether logical assumption as noted above, defendant’s duress theory fails when one considers that he was out of the presence of the other two robbers. Being outside the store, defendant could have abandoned the criminal activity at any time without coercion from his fellow perpetrators. Instead, he chose to remain masked and on guard outside the store.
In summary, then, although I agree with the premises espoused by the majority, I must disagree with their conclusion. I find the quantum of evidence introduced herein to be overwhelming so as to render the trial court’s admission of the improper impeachment evidence harmless error. Accordingly, I would affirm defendant’s conviction.