Opinion ID: 1594000
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Evidence of Collateral Crimes Must Be Relevant

Text: A trial court has broad discretion to determine the relevancy of evidence. Thus, we will not disturb a trial court's decision to admit inextricably intertwined evidence absent an abuse of discretion. See Sexton v. State, 697 So.2d 833, 837 (Fla.1997) (citing Heath v. State, 648 So.2d 660, 664 (Fla.1994)). The trial court's discretion is limited, however, by the evidence code. See McDuffie v. State, 970 So.2d 312, 326 (Fla.2007); see also ch. 90, Fla. Stat. (2000). The prerequisite to the admissibility of evidence is relevancy. All evidence tending to prove or disprove a material fact is admissible, unless precluded by law. See §§ 90.401-90.402, Fla. Stat. (2000). Relevant evidence is inadmissible if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of issues, misleading the jury, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence. § 90.403, Fla. Stat. (2000). Therefore, collateral-crime evidence, such as bad acts not included in the charged offenses, is admissible when relevant to prove a material fact in issue, but is inadmissible when the evidence is relevant solely to prove bad character or propensity. See § 90.404(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (2000). The trial court correctly discerned that the admission of collateral-crime evidence as inextricably intertwined with the charged offenses is not considered Williams [17] rule evidence, which is a special application of the general relevancy rule for collateral crime. See Taylor v. State, 855 So.2d 1, 21 (Fla.2003). Occasionally when proving the elements of a crime, it becomes necessary to admit evidence of other bad conduct to adequately describe the offense or connect the elements of the offense because the charged offense and the other conduct are significantly linked in time and circumstance. See Griffin v. State, 639 So.2d 966, 968 (Fla.1994). In other words, this evidence is admissible because it is a relevant and interwoven part of the conduct that is at issue. Where it is impossible to give a complete or intelligent account of the criminal episode without reference to other uncharged crimes or bad conduct, such evidence may be used to cast light on the primary crime or elements of the crime at issue. See Zack v. State, 753 So.2d 9, 17 (Fla.2000) (evidence of dissimilar robberies during weeklong crime spree admissible to piece together the sequence of events leading up to this murder and to place the present case in perspective). However, when there is a clear break between the prior conduct and the charged conduct or it is not necessary to describe the charged conduct by describing the prior conduct, evidence of the prior conduct is not admissible on this theory. Charles W. Ehrhardt, Florida Evidence § 404.17, at 237 (2005 ed.). Wright concedes that this collateral-crime evidence provided relevant evidence to the jury and instead focuses on the cumulative, prejudicial effect generated by the admission of this evidence. We conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the inextricably intertwined collateral-crime evidence as relevant because it served several purposes: (1) linked Wright to one of the murder weapons and explained his possession of this weapon; (2) provided a geographical nexus for each event; and (3) established the context of Wright's three-day crime spree. More specifically, the Shank burglary provided evidence to the jury of when and where the pistol was stolen, provided an explanation for the origin of the unrecovered shotgun, and linked Wright to the pistol. The Longfellow Boulevard drive-by shooting provided eyewitness testimony and ballistics to place the pistol stolen from the Shank residence in Wright's possession the morning before the murder. The high-speed car chase with the detective in Lakeland placed Wright in the victim's car at the Providence Reserve Apartment complex. This evidence corroborated R.R.'s testimony that Wright carjacked the murder victims and then traveled to the apartment complex. The detective's pursuit was also the first law enforcement contact with the victim's vehicle. Green and Felker had not been reported missing at this time. When the abandoned white Chrysler was recovered on April 22, a sheriff's lieutenant realized that it was probably the same vehicle from the Lakeland car chase, thus linking the vehicle recovered in a remote grove with the area of the Providence Reserve Apartment complex. Further, the carjacking at 1 a.m. on Saturday, April 22, 2000, placed Wright within a few miles of the orange groves where the murders occurred and the vehicle was abandoned. It also provided ballistics and eyewitness testimony regarding Wright's possession of the murder weapon immediately following the murders. The Providence Road foot chase explained Wright's arrest and the discovery of the murder weapon. In that instance, the trial court attempted to limit introduction of evidence that the officers responded to the apartments because of a report of an aggravated assault, for which Wright was charged but was acquitted. Thus, there was no abuse of discretion in admitting this evidence for these limited purposes.