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No. 118351
| The People of the |
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Robert C. Williams (248) 858-5230 |
| State of Michigan, |
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Plaintiff-Appellant,
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| vs (Appeal from Ct of Appeals) |
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| (Oakland -- D.
Breck) |
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| Jessie B. Johnson, |
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Robyn B. Frankel (248) 645-1400 |
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Defendant-Appellee.
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Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Plaintiff-Appellant's Brief on Appeal>>
Defendant-Appellee Brief on Appeal>>
Brief of Attorney General as Amicus Curiae>>
Brief of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association
of Michigan as Amicus Curiae>>
Background
The defendant, a Pontiac police officer named Jessie Johnson,became
the center of a police investigation after an informant named Lemuel
Flack told police that Johnson was involved in a drug house operation
at a house Johnson owned in Pontiac. A State Police officer, Lt. Sykes,
posed as a drug dealer. He asked Johnson to provide security for him
and to find potential locations for drug dens. Johnson accompanied Sykes
to a supposed drug deal at a mall; the other person they were to meet
was an undercover police officer. Sykes handed Johnson the drugs and
told Johnson to meet him on the other side of the building; later, Sykes
told Johnson that Johnson would have to handle drugs in future deals.
Johnson was arrested after a second, similar transaction between two
undercover police officers. Johnson was charged with two counts of possession
with intent to deliver between 225 and 649 grams of cocaine. Ultimately,
Johnson moved to dismiss the case, arguing that he was entrapped into
the possession charges. Oakland County Circuit Judge David Breck agreed,
stating that Johnson's original "role was to protect the undercover
operative from rip off or arrest." Johnson was manipulated into committing
a new crime, the judge concluded. In an unpublished decision, the Court
of Appeals affirmed. The prosecution appeals.
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