Opinion ID: 475290
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: theory of flight evidence.

Text: 20 At the trial, the court gave the jury the following instruction as consciousness of guilt: 21 Instruction No. 20. 22 The intentional flight or concealment of a defendant immediately after the commission of a crime, or after he is accused of a crime that has been committed, is not of course sufficient in itself to establish his guilt, but is a fact which, if proved, may be considered by the jury in the light of all other evidence in the case, in determining guilt or innocence. Whether or not evidence of flight or concealment shows a consciousness of guilt, and the significance to be attached to any such evidence, are matters exclusively within the province of the jury. 23 In your consideration of the evidence of flight you should consider that there may be reasons for this which are fully consistent with innocence. These may include fear of being apprehended, unwillingness to confront the police, or reluctance to appear as a witness. 24 Eggleton claims that, while overruling his motion for a mistrial at the close of the government's case, the court stated that the government had not introduced evidence of flight. However, during its closing argument the government argued the theory of flight and concealment as evidence of guilt. 25 Evidence of the flight of an accused after a crime has been committed is admissible in that it tends to prove consciousness of guilt. United States v. Peltier, 585 F.2d 314, 323 (8th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 945, 99 S.Ct. 1422, 59 L.Ed.2d 634 (1979). Although the circuits are divided on whether it must be shown that the person attempting to flee had reason to believe that he was being, or would be, sought in connection with the commission of a particular crime, this Circuit allows the theory of flight evidence when there is an awareness of guilt. We stated in Peltier that: 26 Analytically, flight is an admission by conduct. Its probative value as circumstantial evidence of guilt depends upon the degree of confidence in which four inferences can be drawn: (1) from the defendant's behavior in flight; (2) from flight to consciousness of guilt; (3) from consciousness of guilt to consciousness of guilt concerning the crime charged; and (4) from consciousness of guilt concerning the crime charged to actual guilt of the crime charged. 27 585 F.2d at 323. The validity of drawing an inference of guilt depends on the number of evidentiary manifestations suggesting that the defendant's decision to flee was prompted by considerations related to the crime in question. Id. 28 After the robbery, Eggleton returned to his home in North Carolina where he got a telephone call from Enriquez telling him that the FBI was looking for them. A short time later Eggleton tried to call Enriquez and was told by his wife that some men had taken him away. The FBI had arrested Enriquez. At this point Eggleton left home, leaving his wife and family behind. 29 In February of 1984 Eggleton called Lynn West looking for a place to stay for a while. He told West he was in trouble with the law. Sometime later West, a deputy sheriff in the State of Florida, was contacted by the FBI and told that Eggleton was wanted for robbery. West spoke several times on the phone with Eggleton and told him of the charges against him. West offered to be a middleman between Eggleton and the FBI. Eggleton asked what might happen if he turned himself in, and West told him that he would likely face a substantial prison term. Eggleton replied that he would rather take his chances on the outside. According to Eggleton, he learned that the FBI was looking for him on the bank robbery charge when he called Lynn West from Costa Rica. Eggleton returned from Costa Rica in July 1984 and thereafter traveled around the country until his arrest on January 23, 1985. 30 In order to be admissible, it is not necessary for the flight to have occurred immediately after the robbery had taken place. We held in Peltier that flight which occurs a substantial time after the crime is admissible when there is evidence that the defendant fled to avoid apprehension. Id. at 324. The evidence demonstrates that Eggleton left home immediately after talking to Enriquez' wife in order to avoid the FBI. It is apparent that he knew he was wanted for the charge of bank robbery in the St. Louis area. Knowing this, Eggleton took an assumed name in order to conceal his identity and fled in order to avoid apprehension. He took his chances on the outside and the evidence of his flight can reasonably lead to his consciousness of his guilt. We must therefore conclude that the trial court did not err in admitting evidence of the defendant's flight and instructing the jury of such evidence. 31