State v. Fikes

597 S.W.3d 330 (2019)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D was the subject of a traffic stop. The officer requested permission to search the vehicle. D (stupid as hell D) consented and informed the officer that there was a gun in the car. The officer found a Hi Point .40 caliber handgun under the driver's seat, and D admitted that the gun was his. The officer then arrested D for several traffic violations. An officer on the illegal firearms squad discovered that D had a prior felony conviction. In April 2005, D had pled guilty to felony resisting arrest; he received a suspended imposition of sentence (SIS) and probation. Fikes later violated the terms of his probation, which the court revoked in 2007. The court converted Fikes's SIS to an SES and again placed him on probation. In light of D's prior felony conviction and the fact that he possessed a firearm when he was arrested in 2016, an investigative stop order was issued for D's arrest. D was arrested when he went to the police station to retrieve his gun. Stupid D was issued Miranda warnings, and he agreed to be interviewed. D stated that he had purchased the gun from a private seller, and he admitted he had fired the gun at a shooting range. (He just convicted himself with his own words.) D then asked why he was under arrest. The officer asked D if he was a convicted felon. D said no and described a prior arrest, but said that he had received probation in that instance. The officer then explained that, while D had received probation initially, the court had later revoked his probation, 'causing him to be a convicted felon.' D argued that knowledge of his status as a felon was a material element of the offense and the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew of his felony conviction. The court held, 'knowing under the statute is an element of the possession of a firearm, not of the felony conviction. D was found guilty of the Class C felony of unlawful possession of a firearm. D was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, but suspended execution of his sentence and placed him on three years' probation. D appealed.