Opinion ID: 1058123
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Excited Utterance Analysis

Text: As noted above, the excited utterance exception requires that (1) there be a startling event or condition; (2) the statement relate to the startling event or condition; and (3) the statement be made while the declarant was still under the stress or excitement of the event or condition. Tenn. R. Evid. 803(2); State v. Stout, 46 S.W.3d 689, 699-700 (Tenn. 2001). We agree with the State that personally observing the inception of a burglary in progress is a startling event. Further, the declarants’ statements in this case clearly relate to their observations of the origin of the burglar alarm. Finally, from the short time that passed from Officer Smith’s first hearing the burglar alarm to his contact with the declarants, and from the declarants’ demeanor, which Officer Smith described as “excited” and “speaking at once,” it is clear that they were still under the stress and excitement of the startling event. Accordingly, we hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that the declarants’ statements qualified as “excited utterances” and were admissible.