Opinion ID: 2078773
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Testimony About the Pursuit

Text: Officer Robert Service testified that he spotted Taylor's vehicle on I-65 not long after the waitress escaped. He began following the car, which accelerated and soon was traveling up to 110 m.p.h. Service testified that the chase ended about 20 minutes later when the getaway vehicle hit a guardrail on an exit ramp and stopped. In this appeal, Taylor claims Service's testimony was irrelevant and prejudicial. Evidence of happenings near in time and place which complete the story of a crime are properly admissible under the theory of res gestae. McMillian v. State (1983), Ind., 450 N.E.2d 996. Testimony concerning Taylor's flight from police and his subsequent arrest completed the story of the crimes with which he was charged. Such testimony was not unduly prejudicial. Therefore, Service's testimony was admissible.