State v. Hunter
State v. Hunter
Opinion of the Court
*206Defendant seeks reversal of a judgment of conviction for one count of felon in possession of a firearm, ORS 166.270, and a judgment revoking his probation. He assigns error to the trial court's denial of his motion to exclude a witness's out-of-court identification. We conclude that we need not decide if the trial court erred in admitting the identification evidence because, on this record, any error in admitting the evidence was harmless. Accordingly, we affirm.
"In reviewing a trial court's admission of eyewitness identification evidence, we defer to the court's findings of fact as long as they are supported by any evidence in the record." State v. Engle ,
After two men pistol-whipped a victim and stole his Acura and most of his personal belongings, the victim called 9-1-1 to report the incident. Officer Townley responded to the call. The victim described one of the men, whom he knew as "Babyface," as a black male, around five feet 11 inches tall and weighing about 160 pounds, but could only describe the other person as a black male in his twenties. Townley related that information and a description of the Acura to other officers over radio.
Officer Wilbon responded by pursuing a car that he first thought was the Acura, but then realized it was a Lincoln carrying four or five young black men. Wilbon followed the Lincoln but lost sight of it; he later found it crashed and noticed three of the men fleeing, including defendant. The three men were detained, and another officer searched the Lincoln and found most of the victim's property, two loaded handguns, and a cellphone with defendant's fingerprints on it.
*207About two hours after the men were detained, Townley took the victim to three separate showups
Defendant moved to exclude the identification evidence before trial on several grounds, but the court denied his motion and the case proceeded to trial. The jury found him guilty only on one count of felon in possession of a firearm and further concluded that defendant did not "use or threaten the use of a firearm during the commission of this felony."
On appeal, defendant reprises his challenges to the identification evidence. However, if there is "little likelihood that the error affected the verdict," we will affirm the *1095judgment. State v. Davis ,
Affirmed.
"A 'showup' is a procedure in which police officers present an eyewitness with a single suspect for identification, often (but not necessarily) conducted in the field shortly after a crime has taken place." State v. Lawson/James ,
Defendant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to connect him with the firearms in the Lincoln, which appeared to be the subject of his motions for a judgment of acquittal and a new trial below; accordingly, the trial court's denial of that motion is not before us on appeal.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.