People of Michigan v. Anthony Dean Hamelin Jr, 351153

On Dec. 6, 2018 police executed a search warrant at Hamelin’s home and woke him in the upstairs bedroom. He was secured and removed from the bedroom.
In the bedroom closet, a few feet from the bed and visible from the doorway, officers found a loaded 9mm Glock with extended magazine and a loaded 9mm Bersa; mail in the closet and bedroom bore Hamelin’s name/address.
In the kitchen/dining areas officers found 15.27 grams of a heroin/fentanyl mixture, 0.29 grams of cocaine, three oxycodone pills, four alprazolam pills, and a press with heroin residue.
The jury convicted Hamelin of possession with intent to deliver heroin, possession of cocaine, oxycodone, alprazolam, and four counts of felony-firearm; the trial court imposed concurrent drug terms, each consecutive to two-year felony-firearm terms.
Hamelin appealed, raising sufficiency of the firearm-possession evidence, prosecutorial error (MRE 404(b) other-acts testimony) and related ineffective-assistance claims, and challenge to scoring OV 2. The Court of Appeals affirmed.

Issue	People’s Argument	Hamelin’s Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence that Hamelin possessed firearms while committing the drug offenses (felony-firearm)	Evidence showed firearms a few feet from Hamelin, visible in closet in his bedroom — supports constructive possession.	Insufficient proof that firearms were possessed concurrently with the drugs.	Affirmed: constructive possession proven by proximity, accessibility, and indicia of control.
Prosecutorial elicitation of other-acts testimony (MRE 404(b)) and related ineffective assistance	Any testimony that a firearm was seen at a controlled buy did not prejudice Hamelin given overwhelming possession evidence.	Prosecutor failed to give MRE 404(b) notice and elicited improper other-acts testimony; if defense opened the door, counsel was ineffective.	No relief: unpreserved claim reviewed for plain error and found no prejudice; IAC claim fails because overwhelming evidence of possession.
Scoring OV 2 (possession/ use of a pistol) and counsel’s failure to object	Five points required because the record supports a finding Hamelin possessed pistols during the drug offenses.	Court erred assigning 5 points; counsel ineffective for not objecting.	Affirmed: preponderance supports OV 2 scoring; failing to raise meritless objection is not ineffective assistance.

People v Tennyson, 487 Mich 730 (sufficiency-review standard: view evidence in light most favorable to prosecutor)
People v Johnson, 293 Mich App 79 (constructive possession: proximity plus indicia of control)
People v Muhammad, 326 Mich App 40 (felony-firearm requires possession of firearm during commission of felony)
People v Hieu Van Hoang, 328 Mich App 45 (standards for ineffective-assistance claims)
People v Brown, 294 Mich App 377 (plain-error review for unpreserved prosecutorial-error claims)
People v McLaughlin, 258 Mich App 635 (plain-error test elements)
People v Heft, 299 Mich App 69 (procedural requirements to preserve IAC claims)
People v Walker, 330 Mich App 378 (standard of review for OV scoring factual findings)
People v Hardy, 494 Mich 430 (legal review of scoring application)
People v Ericksen, 288 Mich App 192 (failing to advance meritless argument is not ineffective assistance)
People v Dobek, 274 Mich App 58 (prosecutor’s duty: seek justice; test for prosecutorial misconduct)
People v Payne, 285 Mich App 181 (IAC review limited to record when no evidentiary hearing)