Facts
- In 2005, Jereil L. Fikes pleaded guilty to resisting arrest, a felony, and received a suspended imposition of sentence (SIS) and probation.
- In 2007, after a probation violation, the court revoked probation and sentenced Fikes to six months’ imprisonment, but suspended execution of the sentence (SES) and again placed him on probation.
- Under Missouri law, an SIS is not treated as a conviction, but an SES is treated as a conviction.
- In October 2016, Fikes was stopped during a traffic stop.
- During a search of his car, Fikes told the officer a gun was in the vehicle.
- The officer found a handgun under the driver’s seat, and Fikes admitted the gun was his.
- Fikes was arrested for traffic violations and later released.
- After his release, police determined Fikes had a prior felony conviction and issued an arrest order/investigative stop order.
- In April 2017, Fikes went to the police station to retrieve the gun and was arrested.
- After Miranda warnings, Fikes stated he had bought the gun from a private seller and had fired it at a shooting range.
- When asked if he was a convicted felon, Fikes said no and explained he had received probation; an officer told him the 2007 revocation made him a convicted felon.
- The State charged Fikes with unlawful possession of a firearm under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 571.070.
- Fikes waived a jury and proceeded to a bench trial, arguing the State had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew he was a convicted felon.
- The trial court rejected that argument, found him guilty, and sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment, suspended execution of sentence, and three years’ probation.
- Fikes appealed, challenging the denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal based on the claimed failure to prove knowledge of felon status.
Issues
- Does Mo. Rev. Stat. § 571.070 require the State to prove the defendant knew he was a convicted felon, or is it enough to prove the defendant knowingly possessed a firearm and in fact had a prior felony conviction?
Decision
- The Missouri Court of Appeals (Western District) affirmed the judgment.
- The court held that § 571.070 requires proof that the defendant knowingly possessed a firearm and that the defendant had previously been convicted of a felony.
- The court held the statute does not require proof that the defendant knew he was a convicted felon.
- Because knowledge of felon status was not an element, the evidence was sufficient without proof of Fikes’s subjective understanding of the SIS/SES distinction.
Legal Principles
- Under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 571.070.1(1), the mental state “knowingly” modifies the act of possessing a firearm, not the separate status element of having “been convicted of a felony.”
- For § 571.070, the State must prove: (1) the defendant knowingly possessed a firearm, and (2) the defendant had a qualifying felony conviction at the time of possession.
- The State need not prove the defendant knew he had the legal status of “convicted felon.”
- Missouri treats an SIS as not a conviction, but treats an SES as a conviction; when an SIS is revoked and an SES is imposed, the defendant has a felony conviction for purposes of § 571.070.
- Statutory interpretation begins with the text; when the legislature attaches a mental state to conduct language, courts do not add an extra mental-state requirement for a separate status phrase absent clear statutory direction.
Conclusion
State v. Fikes holds that Missouri’s unlawful-possession statute, Mo. Rev. Stat. § 571.070.1(1), requires proof that the defendant knowingly possessed a firearm and that he had a prior felony conviction (including one resulting from a revoked SIS followed by an SES), but it does not require proof that the defendant knew he was a convicted felon.