State v. Fikes

In 2005, Jereil Fikes (defendant) pleaded guilty to resisting arrest, a felony. Fikes received a suspended imposition of sentence (SIS) and probation. In 2007, in response to a probation violation, the court revoked Fikes’s probation and sentenced Fikes to six months’ imprisonment but suspended execution of his sentence and again placed him on probation. In Missouri, a suspended execution of sentence (SES) is a conviction, whereas an SIS is not. In 2016, Fikes was pulled over during a traffic stop. Pursuant to a search of his car, Fikes informed the officer that his gun was in the car. The officer found a gun under the seat. Fikes was arrested for traffic violations. After Fikes was released, the police discovered his prior felony conviction and issued an arrest order. In April 2017, Fikes went to retrieve his gun from the police station and was arrested. Fikes stated that he had purchased the gun from a private seller and had shot it at a shooting range. Fikes asked why he was arrested, and an officer asked Fikes if he was a convicted felon. Fikes said no. Fikes described the prior arrest and said he had received probation. The officer explained Fikes was a convicted felon. Charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, Fikes argued at a bench trial that the state had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew of his felony conviction because knowledge of his status as a felon was a material element of the offense. The court held that the element of knowledge applied only to the possession of a firearm, not the felony conviction. The court found Fikes guilty, sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment, but suspended execution of the sentence and placed him on three years’ probation. Fikes appealed.