Jury Still Deliberating in Rifle-Carrying Troy Teen's Trial

After two hours of deliberation Wednesday afternoon, the seven-member jury was unable to reach a verdict on the charges facing Sean Combs, the Troy 18-year-old charged with disturbing the peace and brandishing a firearm after an April 13 incident in downtown Birmingham.

The jury is set to return to Judge Marc Barron's courtroom at the 48th District Court Thursday morning to continue deliberating.

The jury, however, did reach a verdict on the charge of brandishing a firearm, though Barron said the verdict won't be revealed until the jury reaches a decision on all charges.

A third charge of obstructing an officer, meanwhile, was dismissed by Barron Wednesday due to lack of evidence.

Combs was , where he was found walking with a loaded M1 Garand rifle slung over his shoulder. Combs and his girlfriend, who witnessed Combs' arrest, have maintained since his arrest that Combs was .

Combs' trial began Wednesday morning with a passionate argument from prosecutor Mary Kucharek of Beier Howlett, P.C., who argued Combs brandished his weapon by displaying it in an ostentatious manner while causing a scene when confronted by Birmingham Police.

Combs’ lawyer, James Makowski, disagreed, saying Combs was well within his constitutional right to carry his rifle openly, which is not considered brandishing. He added that both Combs and Lia Grabowski, Combs’ girlfriend and a witness in his trial, maintain Combs never raised his voice while speaking with Birmingham officers.

During Wednesday's trial, the two responding Birmingham police officers and a Birmingham police lieutenant testified that Combs appeared to be too young to legally carry a firearm, which was the initial reason for stopping Combs as he walked with Grabowski.

"I was concerned," Officer Rebecca Springer said. "I didn't know if he was trying to show off or if he was going to commit a crime."

Combs, who said he openly carried his rifle that day as a form of self expression and to exercise his Second Amendement rights, confirmed he refused to present his identification to officers, saying Michigan law didn't require him to present his ID in order to openly carry.

"He verbally said he was 18," Lt. Michael Albrecht said, adding that he asked Combs for his license twice after arriving on the scene. "I informed him that if he gave his ID, I would just cite him for disorderly conduct."

The officers testified that Combs raised his voice and drew a crowd of up to 15 onlookers as he spoke with officers. Combs was then handcuffed and arrested as he was pulling his drivers license from his wallet, according to testimony from both Albrecht and Combs.

The case has caused an uproar in the open carry community, which has rallied around Combs to show its support. Open carry advocates, many of whom learned about Combs' case on opencarry.org, have gathered as a group in Birmingham's Shain Park twice now — and — while openly carrying rifles and pistols in support of Combs.

Combs' trial is set to resume at 9 a.m. Thursday.