Court Opinion

ID: 9526839
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 03:25:01.305333+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:24:56.165429
License: Public Domain

J. H. Gillis, J.
(dissenting). I respectfully dissent. I believe that sufficient evidence was produced at trial to establish premeditation and deliberation on the part of defendant when he committed the killing charged herein.
"The presence of premeditation and deliberation can be inferred from the character of the weapon used, the wound inflicted, the prior relationships between the parties, and other evidence surrounding the killing. People v Berthiaume, 59 Mich App 451, 459; 229 NW2d 497 (1975), lv den, 394 Mich 788 (1975), People v Gill, 43 Mich App 598, 602-603; 204 NW2d 699 (1972), lv den, 389 Mich 785 (1973), People v Lem Dumas, 25 Mich App 173; 181 NW2d 89 (1970). See People v Griner, 30 Mich App 612; 186 NW2d 800 (1971), People v Wolf, 95 Mich 625, 629; 55 NW 357 (1893).” People v Melvin, 70 Mich App 138, 146-147; 245 NW2d 178 (1976).
In the instant case, defendant admitted shooting five shots from a .38-caliber pistol into decedent’s neck and head. The muzzle of the pistol was pressed against the decedent’s skin when the shots were fired.
The body was found in a partially burned state and the evidence adduced at trial indicated that the burning was not accidental.
Defendant also testified that he kept his gun unloaded and that the bullets were kept in a separate room. Another witness verified this testi*89mony on the basis of having seen the unloaded gun in its hiding place the night before the killing.
A logical inference can be drawn from this set of circumstances. In order to kill the decedent, the defendant would have had to have gone to two separate rooms to get the gun and the bullets and then return to the bedroom to fire the fatal shots.
Defendant alleges that he did not bring the gun into the bedroom. Instead, he contends that the decedent somehow discovered the gun in its hiding place and also found the bullets in his dresser drawer. The decedent then allegedly loaded the gun and attempted to rob defendant.
Defendant’s version of how the gun came to be in the room seems highly improbable.
"We are dealing here with a very narrow issue involving. submission of a charge of first-degree murder to the jury. Thus, we must determine that if taking the evidence in the light most favorable to the state there was any evidence upon which a jury could predicate a finding of guilty of murder in the first-degree.” People v Watkins, 388 Mich 717, 722; 202 NW2d 780 (1972).
Applying the aforementioned rule to the instant case leads this writer to the conclusion that the trial court properly denied defendant’s motion to dismiss the first-degree murder charge. Accordingly, I would affirm the defendant’s conviction.