People v. Almond

Defendant was arrested in a liquor store, found to have an uncased and loaded .38-caliber handgun in his waistband.Defendant's conviction and sentence for Unlawful Use of a Weapon (UUW) by a felon, based on Defendant's possession of firearm ammunition, is reinstated. Defendant was properly convicted of armed habitual criminal based on his possession of a firearm and UUW by a felon based on his possession of firearm ammunition. Underlying incident, where police officers arrived at liquor store in squad car, in plain clothes but with badges visible, and then Defendant entered store, was a consensual encounter, as it was not coercive or unusual. No Fourth Amendment violation when officer searched Defendant for weapon after Defendant told him that he was armed. That UUW by a felon statute does not expressly distinguish between loaded and unloaded firearms does not render statute ambiguous. Statute authorizes separate convictions for simultaneous possession of a firearm and ammunition in a single loaded firearm. Separate convictions do not violate one-act, one-crime rule. (FREEMAN, THOMAS, KARMEIER, BURKE, and THEIS, concurring.)