People of Michigan v. Gerry Kenneth Adams Jr

── People of Michigan v. Gerry Kenneth Adams Jr ── Court: Michigan Court of Appeals Date: May 20, 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 STATE OF MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, UNPUBLISHED May 20, 2026 Plaintiff-Appellee, 10:45 AM v No. 373496 Gogebic Circuit Court GERRY KENNETH ADAMS, JR., LC No. 2024-000003-FH Defendant-Appellant. Before: WALLACE, P.J., and LETICA and FEENEY, JJ. PER CURIAM. Defendant appeals as of right his jury trial convictions for: (1) third-degree fleeing and eluding a police officer, MCL 257.602a(3)(b); and (2) assaulting, resisting, or obstructing a police officer, MCL 750.81d(1). The trial court sentenced defendant to serve 43 days in jail. We affirm. I. FACTS This case arises out of an officer’s attempt to issue traffic citations to a line of vehicles stopped on a street that were attempting to enter a marijuana dispensary parking lot. The street at issue, Wemple Street, was a side road connected to a busier street; as denoted by signs, no parking was allowed on either side of Wemple Street. Nevertheless, it became routine for dispensary customers to wait in line, in their vehicles, on the right side of Wemple Street. 1 As a result, the Ironwood Public Safety Department received “numerous complaints” about the resulting traffic. The Department’s initial policy was to tell the drivers to move along, but on the day of this incident, the Department instructed an officer (“the officer”) to start issuing citations for “no parking or impeding traffic.” 1 To be clear, although the vehicles were lined upon on the street next to the dispensary parking lot, we note that the video of the incident shows that they were not stopped in traffic, i.e., this was not a situation in which traffic attempting to enter the parking lot had caused a backup on the roadway. Rather, each car appeared to simply be stopped on the road, with a significant space in between each respective vehicle, and the entrance to the parking lot was not blocked. -1-  When the officer arrived at Wemple Street, he parked behind five stationary vehicles that were waiting in line on the right side of the road.2 The officer walked by each vehicle, telling each driver he passed to wait and that they were not free to leave. Defendant’s vehicle was the third in the line. When passing defendant’s vehicle, the officer stated, “Wait here. You’re not free to leave.” Defendant asked, “Is this good?” The officer replied, “No. Wait here, you’re not free to leave.” The officer continued walking forward and began speaking with the first driver in the line. While the officer spoke with the first driver, defendant pulled his vehicle into the left lane and started driving forward. The officer said, “No!” and walked in front of defendant’s vehicle. Defendant stopped, and the officer walked to defendant’s driver’s side window to speak with him. The two engaged in a heated argument, with the officer telling defendant that he was being cited for parking in a no-parking area, and defendant arguing that he had not violated any law. Twice defendant told the officer that he would pull over nearby, and the officer told him to stay where he was. Eventually, without permission to do so, defendant drove to the end of Wemple Street and turned right out of the officer’s sight. Unbeknownst to the officer, defendant pulled into the dispensary parking lot and joined the standing line of