Opinion ID: 790007
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: evidence of prior drug activities

Text: 51 The district court allowed testimony from April about Banks's history of storing cocaine in her apartment to be admitted. Banks argues that this was an impermissible use of character evidence. See Fed.R.Evid. 404(b) (prohibiting evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts from being used to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith). We review the district court's evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion. United States v. Rangel, 350 F.3d 648, 650 (7th Cir.2003). 52 The government elicited the testimony regarding Banks's prior practice of storing cocaine in her apartment on redirect examination, after the defense questioned April about where she obtained all of the cocaine she used. We agree with the district judge that the cross-examination opened the door for testimony on the cocaine Banks had stored in her apartment prior to this incident. Rather than being impermissible character evidence, the testimony was properly admitted as evidence to show that Banks had opportunity, knowledge, and intent to store drugs in April's apartment. See Fed.R.Evid. 404(b). All four prongs of the test for admissibility set forth in United States v. Anifowoshe are met: (1) the evidence is directed to April's reason for believing the cocaine seized belonged to Banks and absence of mistake rather than to his propensity to commit the crime; (2) Banks's use of April's apartment for cocaine storage occurred within five years of the charged offense, making it close enough in time to be relevant; (3) April's testimony was corroborated by Evans and by Banks's fingerprint, making it sufficient to support a jury finding that Banks committed a similar act; and (4) the evidence was highly probative of the central issues of whether Banks intentionally and knowingly possessed the cocaine in April's apartment and was not unfairly prejudicial. See 307 F.3d 643, 646 (7th Cir.2002).