People of Michigan v. Christopher Andrew Shaft

── People of Michigan v. Christopher Andrew Shaft ── Court: Michigan Court of Appeals Date: May 18, 2026 Category: General If this opinion indicates that it is “FOR PUBLICATION,” it is subject to revision until final publication in the Michigan Appeals Reports. STATE OF MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, UNPUBLISHED May 18, 2026 Plaintiff-Appellee, 11:51 AM v No. 373642 Tuscola Circuit Court CHRISTOPHER ANDREW SHAFT, LC No. 2024-016466-FH Defendant-Appellant. Before: ACKERMAN, P.J., and BORRELLO and LETICA, JJ. PER CURIAM. Defendant appeals as of right his jury conviction of carrying a concealed weapon (CCW), MCL 750.227(1). He was sentenced as a fourth-offense habitual offender, MCL 769.12, to 210 days in jail with credit for 131 days served. On appeal, he argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. We agree. Because the prosecution presented no evidence that defendant used or intended to use the butterfly knife as a weapon for bodily assault or defense, the evidence was insufficient to establish that the knife constituted a “dangerous weapon” under MCL 750.227(1). We therefore reverse defendant’s conviction and sentence. I. BACKGROUND On April 10, 2024, at approximately 11:20 p.m., Caro Police Department Officers David Peters and Sam Gaiser were patrolling the Tuscola County Fairgrounds when they observed a pickup truck parked inside the fairgrounds. The officers approached the truck to investigate and made contact with defendant, who was sitting in the driver’s seat playing a Nintendo Switch. Defendant, who was homeless and living in his truck, explained that he was at the fairgrounds to charge his mobile devices. Officer Peters informed defendant that the fairgrounds were closed and requested identification. Defendant set the Nintendo Switch on the center console, located his identification, and produced it. At the same time, Officer Gaiser noticed a knife resting on top of the center console and alerted Officer Peters, who asked defendant to step out of the truck. After defendant exited, Officer Peters advised that he needed to conduct a pat down for weapons. Defendant stated that he had a pocketknife on his person, which Officer Peters recovered from his pants pocket. When asked whether there were any other weapons in the truck, defendant -1- said there was a “camp knife” inside and consented to a search of the vehicle. During the search, Officer Gaiser located two knives: the fixed-blade “camp knife” observed on top of the center console and a black butterfly knife found inside the center console. The blade of the butterfly knife was four inches long, sharp, and folded into the knife’s handle. Defendant told the officers that he used the butterfly knife for “party tricks with his friends” and had forgotten it was in the truck. He said that he used the camp knife for “cutting fat wood,” though at that time he was using it to make peanut butter sandwiches, and the pocketknife for making “feather sticks to make fires.” Officer Gaiser testified that it was immediately apparent to him that the butterfly knife could “pose as a dangerous weapon” and was “within essentially arm’s distance of the driver’s seat,” but Officer Peters testified that defendant did not say or do anything suggesting he intended to use the knife in a dangerous way. Defendant was charged with three counts of CCW, one count for each knife recovered during the encounter. The jury convicted him of CCW with respect to the butterfly knife but acquitted him of the charges involving t