People of Michigan v. Keith Charles Matthews, 332078

Defendant Keith Charles Matthews was convicted by a jury of: felon in possession of a firearm (MCL 750.224f), carrying a concealed weapon (MCL 750.227), and felony-firearm (second offense) (MCL 750.227b); sentenced as a fourth habitual offender to concurrent 1–10 years for the first two counts and a mandatory consecutive 5 years for felony-firearm.
Officers responded after hearing gunshots and observed defendant running in a townhouse complex, then turning away from their scout car and pulling an item from his waistband and dropping it into a white plastic bag on a railing.
Police recovered a .38 Smith & Wesson revolver and live rounds from that white bag; before being told about the gun, defendant said, “you’re not going to put that gun on me.”
Dash-cam footage did not capture the gun being dumped (it occurred off‑frame) and had audio gaps; officers and the detective testified about those irregularities at trial.
During cross-examination Detective Earl Monroe twice referenced that this was a second trial; defense counsel moved for a mistrial after Monroe’s testimony (motion denied) and the court gave a curative jury instruction explaining not to consider the fact this was a retrial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence that defendant possessed the firearm	Testimony and circumstantial evidence (observation of defendant pulling item, dropping it into bag, recovery of revolver from that bag, defendant’s statement) support actual possession	Evidence gaps (no gun on video, audio gaps), possible presence of another person, lack of forensic testing meant reasonable doubt	Affirmed: viewing evidence in prosecution’s favor, sufficient evidence of actual possession for all convictions
Ineffective assistance for not moving for mistrial immediately after Monroe’s references to prior trial	Counsel preserved claim by moving for mistrial after testimony; curative instruction eliminated prejudice	Counsel should have moved sooner; delay let prejudice “fester” in jurors’ minds	Denied: counsel’s timing was not untimely; even if it were, defendant cannot show prejudice because court gave curative instruction and result would likely be same
Witness misconduct from Monroe referencing prior trial	Prosecutor instructed witnesses not to mention prior trial; Monroe’s comments were explanatory and elicited during cross-examination, not prosecutorial misconduct	References prejudiced jury by exposing extraneous information and implying bad character or multiple trials	Denied: remarks were explanatory, jury exposure was cured by instruction, defendant failed to show a real and substantial possibility that verdict was affected

People v. Bailey, 310 Mich. App. 703 (circumstantial evidence and inferences can establish elements)
People v. Stevens, 306 Mich. App. 620 (appellate court will not disturb credibility/weight determinations)
People v. Minch, 493 Mich. 87 (elements of felon-in-possession)
People v. Hill, 433 Mich. 464 (possession may be actual or constructive)
People v. Burgenmeyer, 461 Mich. 431 (possession found where firearm was found in defendant’s vicinity during another felony)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (two-part ineffective assistance standard: performance and prejudice)
People v. Breidenbach, 489 Mich. 1 (presumption that jurors follow curative instructions)
People v. Budzyn, 456 Mich. 77 (extraneous influences to jury require a showing of a real and substantial possibility of affecting verdict)